The Transformation of Italian Communism / Edition 1

by Leonard Weinberg

Overview

The end of the cold war and the fall of the Soviet empire have had major consequences for Italian politics. Leonard Weinberg explores some of those consequences, focusing on the transformation of the Italian Communist party from a Leninist to a democratic party. He also discusses the relationship between the end of communism and the unfolding of the entire Italian system.The Transformation of Italian Communism has two objectives. First, it calls the reader's attention to the role of international developments, an important but largely overlooked area involved in the study of European party politics. Traditional texts in this area emphasize domestic factors, but Weinberg focuses on the influence of international developments on domestic party politics in Italy. The implications for other nations are transparent.The second objective of this work is to examine how Italy's Communist party, the largest such party of its kind in the Western world, reacted to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. Weinberg analyzes the meaning of these events for long-tune party members in Italy'as well as for Italian political and cultural life. The Transformation of Italian Communism offers an original, intimate, and unique assessment of how the end of the cold war has affected Italian political culture. It will be a valuable addition to those interested in the convulsions taking place in modem Italy, as well as to political scientists and theorists of political culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781560001805
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	12/31/1994
Pages:	164
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Leonard Weinberg is professor of political science at the University of Nevada. He has been a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow in Italy as well as a visiting professor at the University of Florence. His other books include The Rise and Fall of Italian Terrorism and After Mussolini: Italian Neo-Fascism and the Nature of Fascism.

Table of Contents

1: The Impact of International Developments on Domestic Party Politics; 2: The Italian Party System; 3: The Party Transformed; 4: Change in Party Organization; 5: The Personal Impact of Party Change; 6: Concluding Observations

What People are Saying About This

Raphael Zariski

This is an engrossing and penetrating analysis of the process by which the Italian Communist Party was transformed into the Democratic Party of the Left. It throws a great deal of light on the underlying causes, immediate consequences, and long-run implications of that transformation.

Editorial Reviews

Weinberg presents a detailed discussion of the transformation of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) into the non-Communist Democratic Party of the Left (PDS). His theoretical framework, based on the concept of linkage, addresses the impact of international developments on national party systems in Western democracies… Upper-division undergraduate through faculty.” —S. Z. Koff, Choice

From the Publisher

Explores the consequences of the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet empire for Italian politics, focusing on the transformation of the Italian Communist party from a Leninist to a democratic party. Discusses the role of international developments, and the impact of party change on long-time party members. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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