This introduction to the ‘Politics in Italy 2024’ special issue sheds light on the main events th... more This introduction to the ‘Politics in Italy 2024’ special issue sheds light on the main events that unfolded during the course of the last year. A central focus is on the passing of Silvio Berlusconi, discussing his legacy and the consequences of his death for the Italian party system. This introduction also discusses the extent to which Fratelli d’Italia (FdI) was able to honour its election pledges, and to act in such a way as to draw a clear line of discontinuity with previous governments. Drawing on Peter Mair’s well-known idea that parties in power are torn between responsibility and responsiveness, we explore the factors that propelled the Meloni government in the direction of the former objective. These aspects are assessed against the available empirical evidence presented in this special issue, revealing that despite notable instances of rupture, Giorgi Meloni’s government has largely followed in the footsteps of its predecessors.
Studying how public administrations proactively search for information from interest groups provi... more Studying how public administrations proactively search for information from interest groups provides a new perspective for a better understanding of how bureaucratic policymaking works and how civil servants interact with interest groups. Building on data collected through an online survey submitted to approximately 700 high-level public servants in Greece, Italy and Portugal, this paper investigates whether and how organisational and individual policy analytical capacities (dis)incentivise top officials' solicitation and use of information provided by interest groups in policymaking. The emerging evidence is counter-intuitive: those who seek information from interest groups most frequently are the most competent top officials in the least (individually perceived) competent areas of public administration. Thus, focusing on policy analytical capacities could be very useful for understanding administrative behaviour.
This paper focuses on the advisory role of political scientists in Southern European countries. S... more This paper focuses on the advisory role of political scientists in Southern European countries. Studying the social and policymaking impact of political scientists in Southern Europe is relevant from at least three points of view: firstly, because they are social scientists who make policymaking one of their main fields of investigation; secondly, because political scientists are usually considered to have little ability to influence policy choices in their countries; thirdly and finally, because this tendency is expected to be particularly evident in Southern European countries. Based on the answers to an online questionnaire given by over 400 political scientists from Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, the paper reconstructs the advisory roles of political scientists in the investigated countries. In doing so, it also proposes a classification of them, based on a principal component analysis (PCA) that highlights frequency, type, recipient(s) and institutional level of governance of their (potential) policy advice. Empirical findings allow for the identification of four empirical types of advisory roles in Southern Europe: i) international expert; ii) parliamentary expert; iii) CSOs consultant; iv) interest group consultant. The paper contributes originally to the literature on policy advice and paves the way for future research on how political scientists play their intellectual role within the society.
One of the main enabling reforms included in the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan is... more One of the main enabling reforms included in the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan is that of competition. In this regard, past pro-competitive attempts have usually disappointed expectations, above all due to the counter-mobilization of very powerful interest groups, able to act as veto-players in the policy process. This article seeks to contribute to the literature on the influence of Italian interest groups by focusing precisely on the pro-competition reforms in two highly politically salient policy sectors: unscheduled public transport services and beach concessions. Specifically, we want to make a triple comparison: between policy sectors, between subsequent stages of the policy cycle and between governments, focusing on the lobbying strategies deployed by the interests affected by the measures being considered. We interpret empirical findings on the basis of a detailed reconstruction of the policy processes, drawing on several interviews with privileged observers.
The relevance and impact of political scientists' professional activities outside of universities... more The relevance and impact of political scientists' professional activities outside of universities has become the focus of public attention, partly due to growing expectations that research should help address society's grand challenges. One type of such activity is policy advising. However, little attention has been devoted to understanding the extent and type of policy advising activities political scientists engage in. This paper addresses this gap by adopting a classification that distinguishes four ideal types of policy advisors representing differing degrees of engagement. We test this classification by calculating a multi-level latent class model to estimate key factors explaining the prevalence of each type based on an original dataset obtained from a survey of political scientists across 39 European countries. Our results challenge the wisdom that political scientists are sitting in an "ivory tower": the vast majority (80%) of political scientists in Europe are active policy advisers, with most of them providing not only expert guidance but also normative assessments.
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Aug 1, 2023
Policy analytical capacity is a pivotal source of good governance. While this capacity can be acq... more Policy analytical capacity is a pivotal source of good governance. While this capacity can be acquired by decision makers in various ways, it is clear that the internal stock of analytical capacity is strategic in terms of supporting policymaking. This stock can be concentrated in specific types of organisational roles (like policy professionals), but it can also be considered a constitutive component of ordinary bureaucratic work. This paper adopts this latter perspective to analyse the characteristics in terms of policy work and analytical capacities of high-level bureaucrats of the central administrations of the Old Southern Four (OSF): Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The data were collected through a large online survey involving more than 1,000 high civil servants. The empirical evidence offered shows the high differentiation in terms of policy work and analytical capacities that characterise the four analysed central bureaucracies and confirms that, despite the expected similarities among the four countries, differences are striking and concern almost all dimensions of analysis. Moreover, Spain has a higher stock of policy analytical capacities. Thus, a policy work perspective can also be a fruitful lens for analysing whether and how administrative reforms are capable to penetrate the micro dimensions of administrative behaviour.
This article focuses on how the 20 main Italian interest groups evaluated the contents of the Ita... more This article focuses on how the 20 main Italian interest groups evaluated the contents of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). In comparing its two versions (Conte Draft and Draghi Plan), we want to understand whether the change of government impacted on the contents of the NRRP and, in turn, on interest groups' preference attainment. To do so, we coded around 800 public statements following a multi-media approach. Interest groups' general appraisal for the NRRP grew with the change of government, while business groups greatly increased their degree of preference attainment. This within-case longitudinal comparison assesses the importance of governments' partisan composition to account for interest groups' success in the policymaking.
A. Polk & K. Mause (eds.), Handbuch Lobbyismus, 2022
This contribution provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the main debates and empirica... more This contribution provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the main debates and empirical evidence of interest groups’ lobbying in Italy. The insufficient academic attention on interest groups in Italy mirrors the enduring lack of a public regulatory framework of lobbying. The main legislative projects and sparse policy outcomes are reviewed, suggesting some explanations for the absence of a national regulation and transparency register as of mid-2022. The dynamics of party-interest group relationships are then scrutinized from the period of the so-called ‘First Republic’ (1948–1994) up to the profound transformation in the Italian political system in the early 1990s and the contemporary scenario, characterized by the rise of bureaucracy as the new fundamental target for lobbying and influence. Based on the data of the Comparative Interest Group Survey, the contribution thus offers a reconstruction of the main patterns of interest groups’ institutional access to the governmental, parliamentary, and bureaucratic arenas in recent years. Lastly, the main empirical results from an in-depth analysis of lobbying influence in recent policy processes (2005–2017) are discussed. In conclusion, the possible and desirable directions of future research on lobbying in Italy are outlined.
The Advisory Roles of Political Scientists in Europe, Jan 1, 2022
To date, no systematic attempt has been made to describe the main features of the Italian policy ... more To date, no systematic attempt has been made to describe the main features of the Italian policy advisory system. In particular, we know very little about the role of political scientists within it. This study addresses precisely this gap in the literature. First, by presenting original data derived from an online survey to which 177 Italian political scientists responded, we reconstruct frequency, type, recipient(s), and areas of their (potential) policy advice. Second, by focusing on two very relevant policy processes—the approval of the so-called Italicum (electoral law) and of the so-called Jobs Act (labour market reform)—we add insightful qualitative details to our quantitative analysis. Empirical results show that Italian political scientists are seldom engaged in policy advisory activities: many of them have never been. Moreover, there are no particular differences—from the point of view of personal characteristics (gender and level of academic career)—between policy advisors and the so-called pure academics. Finally, as the two case studies show, informal advice has the greatest impact on policymaking. This latter aspect reminds us of how much the Italian policy advisory system (PAS) is still poorly institutionalised and largely based on personal relationships as well as on political proximity.
Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche, Nov 20, 2021
The so-called «Recovery Fund» represented a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity for Italian interest... more The so-called «Recovery Fund» represented a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity for Italian interest groups to see their own requests transformed into public policies. This article focuses on how the most important organized interests mobilized and contributed to the public debate on the Recovery Fund by attempting to answer three main research questions: which interests have received greater media visibility with respect to the RF? Which issues those same interest groups brought to the attention of public opinion? With what consequences (if any) to the main contents of the plan itself? We focus on the 20 most important Italian interest groups, reconstructing their lobbying activity and public frames through the coding of their media interventions and press coverage from September 2020 to the end of April 2021.
The so-called «Recovery Fund» represented a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity for Italian interest... more The so-called «Recovery Fund» represented a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity for Italian interest groups to see their own requests transformed into public policies. This article focuses on how the most important organized interests mobilized and contributed to the public debate on the Recovery Fund by attempting to answer three main research questions: which interests have received greater media visibility with respect to the RF ? Which issues those same interest groups brought to the attention of public opinion? With what consequences (if any) to the main contents of the plan itself? We focus on the 20 most important Italian interest groups, reconstructing their lobbying activity and public frames through the coding of their media interventions and press coverage from September 2020 to the end of April 2021.
Over the past few months, (very) much of the Italian public debate dealt with two closely related... more Over the past few months, (very) much of the Italian public debate dealt with two closely related issues: the COVID-19 pandemic and the policy instruments at disposal to national and supranational political actors to mitigate its consequences, especially from a socioeconomic point of view. On this, the main political tool was the so-called 'Next Generation Europe' plan (also known as 'Recovery Fund'): with respect to Italy, this plan concerned more than 200 billion euros, including loans and grants, to be invested in the (economic) relaunch of the country. Thus, it represented a big game that all interest groups wanted to play, a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity to see their own requests transformed into public policies. This article focuses precisely on how the most important organized interests mobilized and contributed to the public debate on the Recovery Fund (RF). It does so by attempting to answer three main research questions: which interests have received greater media visibility with respect to the RP? Which issues those same interest groups brought to the attention of public opinion? With what consequences (if any) to the main contents of the plan itself? Our empirical analysis focuses on the 20 most important Italian interest groups (i.e. the main business associations, labor unions, institutional groups and public interest groups of the country), reconstructing their lobbying activity and public frames through a detailed coding of their (traditional and social) media interventions and press coverage from September 2020 to the end of April 2021.
The purpose of this article is twofold: to explore the dynamics of party leadership change in Ita... more The purpose of this article is twofold: to explore the dynamics of party leadership change in Italy, and to try to assess which (if any) characteristics of the leadership race (LR) to appoint (or re-appoint) the party leader, in combination with other conditions, could favour leadership re-selection in office at the end of the term, rather than a more or less forced early departure. To this end, we have taken into account about thirty LRs promoted by four Italian political parties over the last three decades, relying on a methodology which is new in this field of research: qualitative comparative analysis.
Academics are often accused of being secluded in their "ivory towers", focused on research and te... more Academics are often accused of being secluded in their "ivory towers", focused on research and teaching but uninterested in, or unable to engage with, the public debate. If this is actually the case, under what conditions and at what particular moment is this likely to change? Following on three relevant dimensions-the visibility of political scientists, their partisanship and their impact in the public sphere-and combining press analysis with original survey data, this article has two main aims: first, to assess Italian political scientists' (IPSs) social relevance in a period of huge political and institutional conflict such as the constitutional referendum held in December 2016; second, to explore the potential factors leading IPSs to be more or less present in the public debate. For the former, we focus on the public visibility of IPSs during the referendum campaign, as well as on the content of their public interventions, both concerning their neutral/partisan stance and their attitudes towards the constitutional reform. For the latter, we empirically test a few personal and institutional factors that are likely to influence individuals' participation in the referendum debate.
The main purpose of this paper is to detect the reasons for party leaders' persistence or departu... more The main purpose of this paper is to detect the reasons for party leaders' persistence or departure from the office, starting from the moment they are selected or re-selected. More specifically, we try to assess which (if any) characteristics of the leadership race (LR) called to appoint (or re-appoint) the party leader, in combination with other conditions, could favour leadership re-selection in office at the end of the term, rather than a more or less forced early departure. To this end, we have investigated all the LRs promoted by both bigger and smaller parties in four Western European countries over the last three decades. Bridging the literature on leadership selection and leadership survival, we built a theoretical framework that allowed us to turn to an original methodological approach in the field-qualitative comparative analysis to unravel asymmetrical, equi-final, and conjunctural causation by looking at the combinations of conditions leading to the outcome, namely re-selection or departure from the office. Specifically, we identified five main conditions which are likely to affect the outcome, both alone and in combination with each other: whether there is an outgoing leader running for re-election (incumbency); a broad inclusive-ness of the LR called to appoint the party leader; large victory (namely low competitiveness for contested LR or high approval rates for coronation of a single candidate); participation in government during the leadership tenure; and party electoral support ('big' mainstream vs. 'small' niche/challenger parties).
Interest groups are crucial players of policy processes, not only as providers of information or ... more Interest groups are crucial players of policy processes, not only as providers of information or political capital, but also as promoters of particular frames. By combining process-tracing, frame analysis and semi-structured interviews to representatives of interest groups and key policymakers, this paper aims to shed light on the single and yet paradigmatic case of the fight around the regulation of tobacco advertising in Switzerland, which since 2014 has seen at least two advocacy coalitions facing each other and promoting two quite different (somehow classic) frames: economic freedom and individual responsibility VS public health and collective protection. Our analysis helps explain how-among other factors-interest groups' framing strategies are likely to influence the outcome of the policy process in terms of either status quo maintenance or policy change. The paper contributes to the literature on interest groups and lobbying by presenting an original analytical framework linking advocacy coalitions' characteristics, framing strategies and policy outcomes and by focusing on an exemplary policy process.
In a book published in 1998, Baumgartner and Leech argued that interest group research was charac... more In a book published in 1998, Baumgartner and Leech argued that interest group research was characterized by "elegant irrelevance." Ten years later, Beyers and colleagues linked this to a number of conceptual, methodological and disciplinary barriers which render(ed) the accumulation of knowledge in this bulk of literature difficult. Are those same challenges still slowing down the study of interest groups and lobbying? The main aim of this article is to review all interest group scientific articles published in the top 50 political science journals between 1999 and 2018 in order to answer this question. Our results show a growing community focusing on many themes, preferring quantitative approaches, and analyzing more and more case studies. Interest group research has never before been so lively.
This introduction to the ‘Politics in Italy 2024’ special issue sheds light on the main events th... more This introduction to the ‘Politics in Italy 2024’ special issue sheds light on the main events that unfolded during the course of the last year. A central focus is on the passing of Silvio Berlusconi, discussing his legacy and the consequences of his death for the Italian party system. This introduction also discusses the extent to which Fratelli d’Italia (FdI) was able to honour its election pledges, and to act in such a way as to draw a clear line of discontinuity with previous governments. Drawing on Peter Mair’s well-known idea that parties in power are torn between responsibility and responsiveness, we explore the factors that propelled the Meloni government in the direction of the former objective. These aspects are assessed against the available empirical evidence presented in this special issue, revealing that despite notable instances of rupture, Giorgi Meloni’s government has largely followed in the footsteps of its predecessors.
Studying how public administrations proactively search for information from interest groups provi... more Studying how public administrations proactively search for information from interest groups provides a new perspective for a better understanding of how bureaucratic policymaking works and how civil servants interact with interest groups. Building on data collected through an online survey submitted to approximately 700 high-level public servants in Greece, Italy and Portugal, this paper investigates whether and how organisational and individual policy analytical capacities (dis)incentivise top officials' solicitation and use of information provided by interest groups in policymaking. The emerging evidence is counter-intuitive: those who seek information from interest groups most frequently are the most competent top officials in the least (individually perceived) competent areas of public administration. Thus, focusing on policy analytical capacities could be very useful for understanding administrative behaviour.
This paper focuses on the advisory role of political scientists in Southern European countries. S... more This paper focuses on the advisory role of political scientists in Southern European countries. Studying the social and policymaking impact of political scientists in Southern Europe is relevant from at least three points of view: firstly, because they are social scientists who make policymaking one of their main fields of investigation; secondly, because political scientists are usually considered to have little ability to influence policy choices in their countries; thirdly and finally, because this tendency is expected to be particularly evident in Southern European countries. Based on the answers to an online questionnaire given by over 400 political scientists from Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, the paper reconstructs the advisory roles of political scientists in the investigated countries. In doing so, it also proposes a classification of them, based on a principal component analysis (PCA) that highlights frequency, type, recipient(s) and institutional level of governance of their (potential) policy advice. Empirical findings allow for the identification of four empirical types of advisory roles in Southern Europe: i) international expert; ii) parliamentary expert; iii) CSOs consultant; iv) interest group consultant. The paper contributes originally to the literature on policy advice and paves the way for future research on how political scientists play their intellectual role within the society.
One of the main enabling reforms included in the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan is... more One of the main enabling reforms included in the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan is that of competition. In this regard, past pro-competitive attempts have usually disappointed expectations, above all due to the counter-mobilization of very powerful interest groups, able to act as veto-players in the policy process. This article seeks to contribute to the literature on the influence of Italian interest groups by focusing precisely on the pro-competition reforms in two highly politically salient policy sectors: unscheduled public transport services and beach concessions. Specifically, we want to make a triple comparison: between policy sectors, between subsequent stages of the policy cycle and between governments, focusing on the lobbying strategies deployed by the interests affected by the measures being considered. We interpret empirical findings on the basis of a detailed reconstruction of the policy processes, drawing on several interviews with privileged observers.
The relevance and impact of political scientists' professional activities outside of universities... more The relevance and impact of political scientists' professional activities outside of universities has become the focus of public attention, partly due to growing expectations that research should help address society's grand challenges. One type of such activity is policy advising. However, little attention has been devoted to understanding the extent and type of policy advising activities political scientists engage in. This paper addresses this gap by adopting a classification that distinguishes four ideal types of policy advisors representing differing degrees of engagement. We test this classification by calculating a multi-level latent class model to estimate key factors explaining the prevalence of each type based on an original dataset obtained from a survey of political scientists across 39 European countries. Our results challenge the wisdom that political scientists are sitting in an "ivory tower": the vast majority (80%) of political scientists in Europe are active policy advisers, with most of them providing not only expert guidance but also normative assessments.
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Aug 1, 2023
Policy analytical capacity is a pivotal source of good governance. While this capacity can be acq... more Policy analytical capacity is a pivotal source of good governance. While this capacity can be acquired by decision makers in various ways, it is clear that the internal stock of analytical capacity is strategic in terms of supporting policymaking. This stock can be concentrated in specific types of organisational roles (like policy professionals), but it can also be considered a constitutive component of ordinary bureaucratic work. This paper adopts this latter perspective to analyse the characteristics in terms of policy work and analytical capacities of high-level bureaucrats of the central administrations of the Old Southern Four (OSF): Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The data were collected through a large online survey involving more than 1,000 high civil servants. The empirical evidence offered shows the high differentiation in terms of policy work and analytical capacities that characterise the four analysed central bureaucracies and confirms that, despite the expected similarities among the four countries, differences are striking and concern almost all dimensions of analysis. Moreover, Spain has a higher stock of policy analytical capacities. Thus, a policy work perspective can also be a fruitful lens for analysing whether and how administrative reforms are capable to penetrate the micro dimensions of administrative behaviour.
This article focuses on how the 20 main Italian interest groups evaluated the contents of the Ita... more This article focuses on how the 20 main Italian interest groups evaluated the contents of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). In comparing its two versions (Conte Draft and Draghi Plan), we want to understand whether the change of government impacted on the contents of the NRRP and, in turn, on interest groups' preference attainment. To do so, we coded around 800 public statements following a multi-media approach. Interest groups' general appraisal for the NRRP grew with the change of government, while business groups greatly increased their degree of preference attainment. This within-case longitudinal comparison assesses the importance of governments' partisan composition to account for interest groups' success in the policymaking.
A. Polk & K. Mause (eds.), Handbuch Lobbyismus, 2022
This contribution provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the main debates and empirica... more This contribution provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the main debates and empirical evidence of interest groups’ lobbying in Italy. The insufficient academic attention on interest groups in Italy mirrors the enduring lack of a public regulatory framework of lobbying. The main legislative projects and sparse policy outcomes are reviewed, suggesting some explanations for the absence of a national regulation and transparency register as of mid-2022. The dynamics of party-interest group relationships are then scrutinized from the period of the so-called ‘First Republic’ (1948–1994) up to the profound transformation in the Italian political system in the early 1990s and the contemporary scenario, characterized by the rise of bureaucracy as the new fundamental target for lobbying and influence. Based on the data of the Comparative Interest Group Survey, the contribution thus offers a reconstruction of the main patterns of interest groups’ institutional access to the governmental, parliamentary, and bureaucratic arenas in recent years. Lastly, the main empirical results from an in-depth analysis of lobbying influence in recent policy processes (2005–2017) are discussed. In conclusion, the possible and desirable directions of future research on lobbying in Italy are outlined.
The Advisory Roles of Political Scientists in Europe, Jan 1, 2022
To date, no systematic attempt has been made to describe the main features of the Italian policy ... more To date, no systematic attempt has been made to describe the main features of the Italian policy advisory system. In particular, we know very little about the role of political scientists within it. This study addresses precisely this gap in the literature. First, by presenting original data derived from an online survey to which 177 Italian political scientists responded, we reconstruct frequency, type, recipient(s), and areas of their (potential) policy advice. Second, by focusing on two very relevant policy processes—the approval of the so-called Italicum (electoral law) and of the so-called Jobs Act (labour market reform)—we add insightful qualitative details to our quantitative analysis. Empirical results show that Italian political scientists are seldom engaged in policy advisory activities: many of them have never been. Moreover, there are no particular differences—from the point of view of personal characteristics (gender and level of academic career)—between policy advisors and the so-called pure academics. Finally, as the two case studies show, informal advice has the greatest impact on policymaking. This latter aspect reminds us of how much the Italian policy advisory system (PAS) is still poorly institutionalised and largely based on personal relationships as well as on political proximity.
Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche, Nov 20, 2021
The so-called «Recovery Fund» represented a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity for Italian interest... more The so-called «Recovery Fund» represented a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity for Italian interest groups to see their own requests transformed into public policies. This article focuses on how the most important organized interests mobilized and contributed to the public debate on the Recovery Fund by attempting to answer three main research questions: which interests have received greater media visibility with respect to the RF? Which issues those same interest groups brought to the attention of public opinion? With what consequences (if any) to the main contents of the plan itself? We focus on the 20 most important Italian interest groups, reconstructing their lobbying activity and public frames through the coding of their media interventions and press coverage from September 2020 to the end of April 2021.
The so-called «Recovery Fund» represented a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity for Italian interest... more The so-called «Recovery Fund» represented a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity for Italian interest groups to see their own requests transformed into public policies. This article focuses on how the most important organized interests mobilized and contributed to the public debate on the Recovery Fund by attempting to answer three main research questions: which interests have received greater media visibility with respect to the RF ? Which issues those same interest groups brought to the attention of public opinion? With what consequences (if any) to the main contents of the plan itself? We focus on the 20 most important Italian interest groups, reconstructing their lobbying activity and public frames through the coding of their media interventions and press coverage from September 2020 to the end of April 2021.
Over the past few months, (very) much of the Italian public debate dealt with two closely related... more Over the past few months, (very) much of the Italian public debate dealt with two closely related issues: the COVID-19 pandemic and the policy instruments at disposal to national and supranational political actors to mitigate its consequences, especially from a socioeconomic point of view. On this, the main political tool was the so-called 'Next Generation Europe' plan (also known as 'Recovery Fund'): with respect to Italy, this plan concerned more than 200 billion euros, including loans and grants, to be invested in the (economic) relaunch of the country. Thus, it represented a big game that all interest groups wanted to play, a perhaps unrepeatable opportunity to see their own requests transformed into public policies. This article focuses precisely on how the most important organized interests mobilized and contributed to the public debate on the Recovery Fund (RF). It does so by attempting to answer three main research questions: which interests have received greater media visibility with respect to the RP? Which issues those same interest groups brought to the attention of public opinion? With what consequences (if any) to the main contents of the plan itself? Our empirical analysis focuses on the 20 most important Italian interest groups (i.e. the main business associations, labor unions, institutional groups and public interest groups of the country), reconstructing their lobbying activity and public frames through a detailed coding of their (traditional and social) media interventions and press coverage from September 2020 to the end of April 2021.
The purpose of this article is twofold: to explore the dynamics of party leadership change in Ita... more The purpose of this article is twofold: to explore the dynamics of party leadership change in Italy, and to try to assess which (if any) characteristics of the leadership race (LR) to appoint (or re-appoint) the party leader, in combination with other conditions, could favour leadership re-selection in office at the end of the term, rather than a more or less forced early departure. To this end, we have taken into account about thirty LRs promoted by four Italian political parties over the last three decades, relying on a methodology which is new in this field of research: qualitative comparative analysis.
Academics are often accused of being secluded in their "ivory towers", focused on research and te... more Academics are often accused of being secluded in their "ivory towers", focused on research and teaching but uninterested in, or unable to engage with, the public debate. If this is actually the case, under what conditions and at what particular moment is this likely to change? Following on three relevant dimensions-the visibility of political scientists, their partisanship and their impact in the public sphere-and combining press analysis with original survey data, this article has two main aims: first, to assess Italian political scientists' (IPSs) social relevance in a period of huge political and institutional conflict such as the constitutional referendum held in December 2016; second, to explore the potential factors leading IPSs to be more or less present in the public debate. For the former, we focus on the public visibility of IPSs during the referendum campaign, as well as on the content of their public interventions, both concerning their neutral/partisan stance and their attitudes towards the constitutional reform. For the latter, we empirically test a few personal and institutional factors that are likely to influence individuals' participation in the referendum debate.
The main purpose of this paper is to detect the reasons for party leaders' persistence or departu... more The main purpose of this paper is to detect the reasons for party leaders' persistence or departure from the office, starting from the moment they are selected or re-selected. More specifically, we try to assess which (if any) characteristics of the leadership race (LR) called to appoint (or re-appoint) the party leader, in combination with other conditions, could favour leadership re-selection in office at the end of the term, rather than a more or less forced early departure. To this end, we have investigated all the LRs promoted by both bigger and smaller parties in four Western European countries over the last three decades. Bridging the literature on leadership selection and leadership survival, we built a theoretical framework that allowed us to turn to an original methodological approach in the field-qualitative comparative analysis to unravel asymmetrical, equi-final, and conjunctural causation by looking at the combinations of conditions leading to the outcome, namely re-selection or departure from the office. Specifically, we identified five main conditions which are likely to affect the outcome, both alone and in combination with each other: whether there is an outgoing leader running for re-election (incumbency); a broad inclusive-ness of the LR called to appoint the party leader; large victory (namely low competitiveness for contested LR or high approval rates for coronation of a single candidate); participation in government during the leadership tenure; and party electoral support ('big' mainstream vs. 'small' niche/challenger parties).
Interest groups are crucial players of policy processes, not only as providers of information or ... more Interest groups are crucial players of policy processes, not only as providers of information or political capital, but also as promoters of particular frames. By combining process-tracing, frame analysis and semi-structured interviews to representatives of interest groups and key policymakers, this paper aims to shed light on the single and yet paradigmatic case of the fight around the regulation of tobacco advertising in Switzerland, which since 2014 has seen at least two advocacy coalitions facing each other and promoting two quite different (somehow classic) frames: economic freedom and individual responsibility VS public health and collective protection. Our analysis helps explain how-among other factors-interest groups' framing strategies are likely to influence the outcome of the policy process in terms of either status quo maintenance or policy change. The paper contributes to the literature on interest groups and lobbying by presenting an original analytical framework linking advocacy coalitions' characteristics, framing strategies and policy outcomes and by focusing on an exemplary policy process.
In a book published in 1998, Baumgartner and Leech argued that interest group research was charac... more In a book published in 1998, Baumgartner and Leech argued that interest group research was characterized by "elegant irrelevance." Ten years later, Beyers and colleagues linked this to a number of conceptual, methodological and disciplinary barriers which render(ed) the accumulation of knowledge in this bulk of literature difficult. Are those same challenges still slowing down the study of interest groups and lobbying? The main aim of this article is to review all interest group scientific articles published in the top 50 political science journals between 1999 and 2018 in order to answer this question. Our results show a growing community focusing on many themes, preferring quantitative approaches, and analyzing more and more case studies. Interest group research has never before been so lively.
Il sistema politico italiano viene spesso biasimato per la scarsa capacità di rispondere alle esi... more Il sistema politico italiano viene spesso biasimato per la scarsa capacità di rispondere alle esigenze del paese. Tuttavia, a critiche mirate e fondate, talvolta se ne associano altre più superficiali. In un’epoca in cui è sempre più difficile orientarsi nel bombardamento quotidiano di informazioni, il manuale combina un focus analitico-descrittivo sul funzionamento del sistema politico con le interpretazioni della letteratura politologica più recente. Lo fa in riferimento a tre dimensioni d’analisi complementari tra loro: il contesto storico, internazionale e socio-economico nel quale operano gli attori del sistema politico, il rapporto tra cittadini e politica e, infine, il funzionamento delle istituzioni statali e regionali. Concepito in primo luogo come strumento didattico per gli studenti di scienze politiche e sociali, il manuale fornisce analisi, dati ed interpretazioni fondamentali per comprendere la politica italiana e mapparne continuità e trasformazioni.
Nonostante un processo decisionale sempre più frammentato e mutevole, che sembrerebbe vincolare i... more Nonostante un processo decisionale sempre più frammentato e mutevole, che sembrerebbe vincolare i governi a rispondere velocemente (e, spesso, unilateralmente) alle sfide poste dalla quotidianità, la maggior parte delle politiche approvate nelle democrazie contemporanee registra il fattivo coinvolgimento dei gruppi di interesse, abili a premere sui decisori pubblici e, per il tramite di ciò, ottenere risultati di policy. Come si spiega questo (apparente) paradosso? E che effetti ha sul funzionamento della democrazia nel suo complesso? Il testo risponde a tali importanti quesiti attraverso la sistematica ricognizione della più recente letteratura sull’argomento – dai concetti fondamentali agli approcci teorici, dalle modalità del lobbying alle relazioni tra gruppi e partiti, dall’accesso alle sedi istituzionali all’influenza sul processo di policy – gettando nuova luce su un tema classico della riflessione politologica.
Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche, Sep 9, 2019
This special issue aims pushing forward the study of interest groups in Italy, with a particular ... more This special issue aims pushing forward the study of interest groups in Italy, with a particular focus on their role of interests in policymaking and on the analysis of how lobbying varies throughout the policy cycle. This introductory essay illustrates the common analytical framework followed by each single contribution, which reconstruct five relevant policy processes in the period of the so-called ‘disintermediation’ between policymakers and interest groups in Italy. It combines politics and policy factors using the policy cycle as the main tool of analysis. The contingency of configurations in the interplay between governments and interest groups emerges as a common trend: groups are resilient and able to adapt to the uncertainty and variability of the policy context, while governments – during their life cycle – progressively need the resources of groups throughout the policy cycle.
Chi sono le più influenti lobby italiane? Come e quanto riescono a incidere sulle decisioni pubbl... more Chi sono le più influenti lobby italiane? Come e quanto riescono a incidere sulle decisioni pubbliche? E tutto questo che effetti ha sul funzionamento e la qualità della nostra democrazia? Nel rispondere a tali importanti interrogativi, l’autore mette a confronto i tratti salienti della politica degli interessi così come è andata strutturandosi nel corso della storia repubblicana, con un’attenta e puntuale analisi di come si presenta oggi. Nello specifico, vengono illustrate le caratteristiche distintive del sistema rispetto alla propria densità e differenziazione interna, nonché alle modalità attraverso le quali i gruppi di interesse italiani conducono la propria attività di lobbying, accedono alle diverse sedi istituzionali – nazionali e comunitarie – e incidono sul processo decisionale. Ne emerge un quadro decisamente rinnovato rispetto all’assetto della Prima Repubblica. Da un lato, all’interno del sistema è molto aumentato il grado di pluralismo: sempre più gruppi, rappresentanti una sempre più ampia varietà di interessi organizzati, sono oggi in grado di giocare un ruolo importante nel processo decisionale. Dall’altro lato, il prezzo di questa maggiore apertura risiede in una aumentata frammentazione e instabilità del sistema, principalmente legata al ridimensionamento dei partiti politici quali attori principali del policymaking.
Come cambierà il sistema politico italiano dopo la vittoria del No al referendum? Quali alleanze ... more Come cambierà il sistema politico italiano dopo la vittoria del No al referendum? Quali alleanze politiche si verranno a formare in Parlamento e nella società? Quale sarà il destino dell’eterna transizione italiana? Per rispondere a questi e molti altri interrogativi, questo volume – nato dalle attività di ricerca condotte sul tema dal prestigioso Istituto Cattaneo – raccoglie le analisi e le ricerche di alcuni dei più noti studiosi della politica italiana e offre interpretazioni originali sul voto del 4 dicembre 2016, considerato da molti commentatori come un nuovo spartiacque nella storia d’Italia. Accantonati i toni «accesi» e i discorsi faziosi tipici della campagna elettorale, gli autori di questo volume offrono analisi precise e puntuali di tutti gli aspetti più rilevanti del referendum costituzionale, dalla straordinaria partecipazione elettorale all’esito differenziato del voto tra le regioni italiane, passando per il profilo politico e socio-demografico degli elettori. Con una diversità di approcci e una grande ricchezza di dati, i vari contributi qui raccolti permettono di analizzare le molteplici sfumature di un voto che, oltre alle conseguenze che ha già prodotto sul governo e la leadership di Matteo Renzi, promette di avere un impatto duraturo sul futuro del sistema politico italiano.
Tesi di Dottorato - Università di Bologna, May 2010
Come è noto, il più o meno stretto rapporto che intercorre, nelle democrazie occidentali capitali... more Come è noto, il più o meno stretto rapporto che intercorre, nelle democrazie occidentali capitaliste, tra le maggiori organizzazioni d’interesse e i partiti politici è già stato variamente analizzato ed interpretato nella letteratura politologica. Sia che tale rapporto sia analizzato a livello sistemico (Rose 1974a), sia che venga indagato dal punto di vista delle strategie di lobbying specifiche dei differenti gruppi (Ward 2004; Hall e Deardorff 2006), l’aspetto considerato essenziale riguarda se, come e in che misura i partiti diventino e rimangano dei gatekeepers (Easton 1965) rispetto agli interessi sostenuti dai gruppi (Morlino 1991). Ciò che massimamente conta, in questo senso, è se i partiti riescono a far prevalere il circuito elettorale rappresentativo rispetto a quello definito come funzionale, proprio degli interessi. In altre parole, se la direzione dell’influenza tra tali due attori procede dai partiti verso i gruppi, o dai gruppi verso i partiti. In questo senso, tali rapporti così definiti identificherebbero quattro possibili categorie di interrelazione: l’occupazione; la simbiosi; l’egemonizzazione; la neutralità (Morlino 1991). Rimandando altrove per la puntuale classificazione analitica di tali categorie idealtipiche, uno degli obiettivi di questo lavoro sarà proprio quello di ipotizzare l’ascrizione del caso italiano degli ultimi quindici anni all’una o all’altra di queste, sulla base dell’osservazione empirica di come i rapporti tra legittimo decisore politico ed interessi socio-economici sono andati sviluppandosi nel periodo preso a riferimento. Quello dell’interpretazione (e spiegazione) della relazione tra governo e gruppi, tuttavia, non è l’unico quesito al quale si cercherà di dare risposta. Tra gli altri, infatti, si proverà anche a rispondere ad interrogativi di tipo quantitativo, ovvero: quanto i vari governi studiati sono stati in grado di mantenere ferma la propria linea di policy, nel corso dei differenti processi decisionali? Quanto, al contrario, i gruppi sono riusciti ad inserirsi in tale processo, strappando concessioni al legittimo decisore politico? E infine: quale (o quali) tra questi gruppi si è dimostrato più influente, nel suo confrontarsi (o contrapporsi) col governo? Su queste basi, il focus dell’intero lavoro, piuttosto che sull’evolversi dei processi di policy-making, riguarderà il raffronto tra posizioni di partenza e risultati finali, e ricostruirà, di conseguenza, più i rapporti di forza tra gli attori decisionali che il contenuto delle decisioni effettivamente prese. In altri termini, la prospettiva di politics sarà preponderante rispetto alla prospettiva di policy.
Nell’ambito della ricerca politologica sui gruppi d’interesse, nessuno studio era mai stato dedic... more Nell’ambito della ricerca politologica sui gruppi d’interesse, nessuno studio era mai stato dedicato a due attori socio-economici molto rilevanti nel processo di policy making nazionale: l’associazione delle banche (ABI) e quella delle assicurazioni (ANIA), associazioni comunemente ritenute i «poteri forti» per eccellenza. Una lacuna che il libro viene a colmare. A partire da solide basi teoriche, l’autore conduce una approfondita analisi empirica di tre dimensioni fondamentali per ogni gruppo di interesse: la struttura organizzativa, l’attività di lobbying, l’influenza sul processo di policy-making. Ne emerge un quadro che solo in parte conferma l’opinione che banche e assicurazioni siano davvero quei poteri forti che si pensa, in grado di incidere profondamente sulla legislazione italiana.
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Accantonati i toni «accesi» e i discorsi faziosi tipici della campagna elettorale, gli autori di questo volume offrono analisi precise e puntuali di tutti gli aspetti più rilevanti del referendum costituzionale, dalla straordinaria partecipazione elettorale all’esito differenziato del voto tra le regioni italiane, passando per il profilo politico e socio-demografico degli elettori. Con una diversità di approcci e una grande ricchezza di dati, i vari contributi qui raccolti permettono di analizzare le molteplici sfumature di un voto che, oltre alle conseguenze che ha già prodotto sul governo e la leadership di Matteo Renzi, promette di avere un impatto duraturo sul futuro del sistema politico italiano.
In questo senso, tali rapporti così definiti identificherebbero quattro possibili categorie di interrelazione: l’occupazione; la simbiosi; l’egemonizzazione; la neutralità (Morlino 1991). Rimandando altrove per la puntuale classificazione analitica di tali categorie idealtipiche, uno degli obiettivi di questo lavoro sarà proprio quello di ipotizzare l’ascrizione del caso italiano degli ultimi quindici anni all’una o all’altra di queste, sulla base dell’osservazione empirica di come i rapporti tra legittimo decisore politico ed interessi socio-economici sono andati sviluppandosi nel periodo preso a riferimento.
Quello dell’interpretazione (e spiegazione) della relazione tra governo e gruppi, tuttavia, non è l’unico quesito al quale si cercherà di dare risposta. Tra gli altri, infatti, si proverà anche a rispondere ad interrogativi di tipo quantitativo, ovvero: quanto i vari governi studiati sono stati in grado di mantenere ferma la propria linea di policy, nel corso dei differenti processi decisionali? Quanto, al contrario, i gruppi sono riusciti ad inserirsi in tale processo, strappando concessioni al legittimo decisore politico? E infine: quale (o quali) tra questi gruppi si è dimostrato più influente, nel suo confrontarsi (o contrapporsi) col governo?
Su queste basi, il focus dell’intero lavoro, piuttosto che sull’evolversi dei processi di policy-making, riguarderà il raffronto tra posizioni di partenza e risultati finali, e ricostruirà, di conseguenza, più i rapporti di forza tra gli attori decisionali che il contenuto delle decisioni effettivamente prese. In altri termini, la prospettiva di politics sarà preponderante rispetto alla prospettiva di policy.