Italian Regionalism: History, Identity and Politics

by Carl Levy

Overview

The debate on Italian regionalism has received renewed impetus from the disintegration of the First Republic and the emergence of the Northern League. In this important study, leading scholars of Italian history, politics, sociology and linguistics examine the nature of Italian regionalism since the formation of the modern Italian nation state. This is the first English-language book to explore the Italian concept of regionalism in all its ramifications.Topics include: the nature and problems of Italian regionalism in context; the historical background of the period up to 1945; critical overviews of regionalism since the establishment of the Republic; the relationship between dialect, language and Italian regionalism; and an examination of the origins of the Northern Leagues, their growing power, and their contribution to the crisis of the Republic. Contributors: Adrian Lyttelton, John Davis, Anna Laura Lepschy, Giulio Lepschy, Martin Clark, Percy Allum, Ilvo Diamanti, Joseph Farrell, David Hine, Anna Cento Bull, Miriam Voghera

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781859731314
Publisher:	Berg Publishers
Publication date:	09/01/1996
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Carl Levy is Lecturer in European Politics, Department of Social Policy and Politics, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Table of Contents

Carl Levy, Introduction: Italian Regionalism in Context — PART I, History: The Construction of Regional Identities — Adrian Lyttelton, Shifting Identities: Nation, Region and City — John A. Davis, Changing Perspectives on Italy's 'Southern Problem" — Anna Laura Lepschy, Giulio Lepschy and Miriam Voghera, Linguistic Variety in Italy — Martin Clark, Sardinia: Cheese and Modernization — PART II, Regionalism in the Italian Republic: Centre and Periphery under Strain — David Hine, Federalism, Regionalism and the Unitary State: Contemporary Regional Pressures in Historical Perspective — Joseph Farrell and Carl Levy, The Northern League: Conservative Revolution? — Percy Allum and Ilvo Diamanti, The Autonomous Leagues in the Veneto — Anna Cento Bull, Ethnicity, Racism and the Northern League — Appendix: Note on the Regional Elections of 1995

Editorial Reviews

an interesting book which will be appreciated by political scientists and political sociologists in search of longitudinal perspectives, and by all readers who believe in interdisciplinary work.

South European Society and Politics

an important addition to scholarship on Italian history, politics and social anthropology, as well as a contribution to our understanding of the Italian concept of regionalism from different perspectives. [...] From an anthropological point of view, this reader may represent a landmark for future case studies on the ways in which the ideologies of the autonomist movements are received and interpreted by the people involved.

Journal of Cambridge Anthropology

"an important addition to scholarship on Italian history, politics and social anthropology, as well as a contribution to our understanding of the Italian concept of regionalism from different perspectives. [...] From an anthropological point of view, this reader may represent a landmark for future case studies on the ways in which the ideologies of the autonomist movements are received and interpreted by the people involved." --Journal of Cambridge Anthropology

"an interesting book which will be appreciated by political scientists and political sociologists in search of longitudinal perspectives, and by all readers who believe in interdisciplinary work." --South European Society and Politics

From the Publisher