Electoral campaigning in the Italian 2013 elections: innovation and tradition

The Italian electoral campaign in the 2013 general elections is marked by an incomplete evolution of Italian political communication towards a professionalized market-oriented model. In these elections an increased use of the internet and the social media coexisted with a more traditional understanding of political communication. The electoral success of the Movimento Cinque Stelle led by Beppe Grillo shows that the hybridization of traditional and post-modern communication can be effective in the exploitation of anti-political and antiparty feelings, particularly widespread among the Italian electorate in the 2013 elections. However, just where this development is headed is still a moot question and leaves the field for further investigation open

The Long Evolution of Extreme Right Music in Italy and Germany

The importance of music in extreme right political culture is acknowledged in recent academic and non-academic contributions in Italy and Germany. Patterns of music development in different European contexts reflect the prevailing ideological dimension of the role of this cultural expression in the extreme right context (Dyck 2016). Labels such as "White power music", "Rechtsrock" and "Reichsrock" all point to various trajectories in the recruitment and socialization functions of extreme right music. In Italy, the concept of "rock identitario" designates the most successful form of music production by well-known bands directly linked to political movements. However, identitarian rock is only the arrival point of a long tradition of music development within the Italian Extreme Right. In Germany, recent investigations of the "Rechtsrock" phenomenon have highlighted the intense internationalization of networks of extreme right movements that mostly mobilize cultural manifestations of extreme right ideologies. The analysis comprises a diachronic enquiry into the development of extreme right music in Germany and Italy. From a comparative perspective, the paper will highlight how – no different from other political languages – changes in music production both reflect and go along with the transformation of the Italian and German Extreme Right from an organizational, political culture and strategic perspective.<br /

The Long Evolution of Extreme Right Music in Italy and Germany

The importance of music in extreme right political culture is acknowledged in recent academic and non-academic contributions in Italy and Germany. Patterns of music development in different European contexts reflect the prevailing ideological dimension of the role of this cultural expression in the extreme right context (Dyck 2016). Labels such as "White power music", "Rechtsrock" and "Reichsrock" all point to various trajectories in the recruitment and socialization functions of extreme right music. In Italy, the concept of "rock identitario" designates the most successful form of music production by well-known bands directly linked to political movements. However, identitarian rock is only the arrival point of a long tradition of music development within the Italian Extreme Right. In Germany, recent investigations of the "Rechtsrock" phenomenon have highlighted the intense internationalization of networks of extreme right movements that mostly mobilize cultural manifestations of extreme right ideologies. The analysis comprises a diachronic enquiry into the development of extreme right music in Germany and Italy. From a comparative perspective, the paper will highlight how – no different from other political languages – changes in music production both reflect and go along with the transformation of the Italian and German Extreme Right from an organizational, political culture and strategic perspective

Higher education training in social work in Albania: insights from the experiences of the T@sk project

In March 2020, the European Union decided to open accession negotiations with Albania, candidate country since 2014. In order to achieve this important goal in the long path of European integration, Albania had to pursue a set of requirements. Among them, the centrality of human rights affects the implementation of policies aiming at integrating minorities, as well as at granting social rights to unprivileged citizens (La Cava Nanetti 2000, Solidar 2016). In this scenario, the evolution of the professional expertise of Albanian social workers plays a relevant role. In academic and professional terms, social work has a poor tradition in Albania, as in most of post-communist countries (Hoti 2015). In order to face the difficulties of the professional and academic evolution of social work and to facilitate a process of Europeanisation of the Social Services delivery in Albania, the European Commission has funded the project T@sk Towards Increased Awareness, Responsibility and Shared Quality in Social work (2017-2020). The main aim of the project consists in strengthening the delivery of Social Services in Albania through the empowerment of the Higher Education system in social work. The consortium includes all public universities offering BA and MA courses in social work in Albania – University of Tirana, University of Shkoder and University of Elbasan –, and the University of Florence, the UCM of Madrid, the ISCTE of Lisbon and the Professional Order of Social workers of the Tuscany Region as Higher Education institutions of the program countries. The project operates at three levels: peer-to peer theoretical and empirical update amongst the project partners; triangulation of knowledge, transdisciplinary cooperation with the societal stakeholders and digital innovation; selection and dissemination of best practices. The project was concluded in December 2020 and it is possible to elaborate on the main theoretical and empirical framework adopted, on the results achieved, and on the challenges to create a favorable environment for the development of social work profession in Albania. The article sheds light in the pattern of evolution of social work practices in Albania, focusing on the social and cultural background of the country, and describing the main achievements of the T@sk project

Die Populismen der Lega Nord und der Wandel ihrer Volksvorstellungen

"The polysemic nature of populism is perfectly reflected in the multifaceted populism of the Italian Lega Nord (LN). Born as the supposed receptacle of cultural and autonomist tendencies of the Northern regions, the party soon developed into a genuine right-wing populist party. Its programmatic platform and rhetoric - one of the major factors of its electoral success - reflect the breadth of the LN's appeal to the people. The party program and rhetoric constantly fluctuate between an identity-based and a protest-based call for a deep renovation of the relationship between the people and its élite. This renovation includes the call for more autonomy of the Northern Italian regions - ranging from federalism to secession - which coexists within the LN platform with more genuine stances of European right wing populist parties: Antiestablishment and anti-party positions, anti-immigration in addition to law and order issues, the need to return to traditional family values and the rejection of a multicultural society. In order to correctly interpret one of the most important political actors of the Italian party system of the last two decades, the article analyses these programmatic dimensions as they shift during the evolutionary phases of the LN. Despite the recent crisis which affected the party and its leadership, the LN represents a prototypical example of how the contradictions of liberal democracies, due to which populism prospers, have been successfully exploited." (author's abstract

Chapter Introduzione

Migration is a highly debated issue in political but also academic terms. Research on the national and international level is more and more sophisticated and detailed in the selection of the case studies. In this scenario, the authors of this volume aim to present to the academic attention and to the community of university students a multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of migration in Italy, whose main purpose is to go beyond the over-adopted concept of migration as social, political and cultural “challenge

Chapter La politicizzazione della questione migratoria tra vecchi e nuovi attori

How do right wing populist parties politicize migration in different political, economic and social contexts? The chapter aims to provide an answer to this question by analyzing four parties: the Italian (Northern) League, the Spanish VOX, the German Alternative for Germany and the Austrian Freedom Party. Opposition to migration and negative reactions towards multicultural societies are recurrent arguments in the rhetoric of right-wing populist parties. The authors offer a multidimensional description of converging and diverging patterns of representation of migration in the four countries

Imigracija i kriza u novoj imigracijskoj državi:slučaj Italije

Despite the centrality of immigration in public debates, sheer numbers clearly demonstrate that Italy is far from being the main destination country for immigrants in the EU. However, as emphasized by recent surveys, immigration represents one of the main preoccupations of Italians. The combined effects of the two major crises of the last decade – i.e., the economic crisis and the so-called refugee crisis – have induced an increased level of politicisation of immigration. Note that immigration has been assessed as one of the most important determinants for the successful communication of populist parties since the 1980s. Within this context, the Italian case is specific: Italy has only recently become a country of immigration. Until the 1970s, the number of Italians emigrating was higher than the number of people immigrating to Italy. The reversal of this situation has had consequences on two levels. At the legislative level, all attempts to egulate immigration have been characterised by a constant tension between humanitarian-based reasoning and elements in favour of the reinforcement of the rule of law and, more specifically, a focus on security and order. At the political level, since the early 1990s, the position of the radical right, populist Northern League has regularly been synonymous with xenophobia and welfare chauvinism. According to their most recent official stances, the Northern League has become increasingly characterised by a full rejection of multiculturalism and immigration. Since 2010, a new populist party has joined the Italian arena: the Five Star Movement. In their case, the topic of immigration has only recently become a central element of the populist agenda. The M5S features unclear and often conflicting positions on the topic of immigration. These hesitations are connected with both the complexity of the M5S as an organisation and a strategic approach that aims to link their political agenda to the voice of the people.Tema useljeništva prednjači u javnim raspravama u Italiji. Iako brojke jasno pokazuju da Italija nije glavno odredište useljenika u Europsku uniju, nedavna istraživanja govore o velikoj važnosti ove teme za Talijane. S obzirom na učinak dviju najvećih kriza posljednjeg desetljeća – ekonomske i tzv. migrantske – tema useljeništva postala je uvelike politizirana. Također, ta se tema pokazala iznimno važnom za uspješnu komunikaciju populističkih stranaka još od osamdesetih godina. U ovome je kontekstu slučaj Italije specifičan jer je ta država tek nedavno postala useljenička, s obzirom na to da se do sedamdesetih godina više Talijana iseljavalo nego što je bilo doseljenika u zemlju. Preokret u rojkama utjecao je na dvije sfere: zakonodavstvo i politiku. U sferi zakonodavstva sva su nastojanja da se useljavanje regulira obilježena neskladom koji vlada između humanitarnog pristupa i onoga koji ide u prilog vladavini prava, tj. usmjerenosti na sigurnost i red. U sferi politike stajalište koji zastupa radikalno desna populistička stranka Sjeverna liga još je od ranih devedesetih godina istoznačno s pojmovima ksenofobije i šovinizma socijalne zaštite. Najnovija službena stajališta Sjeverne lige svjedoče o sve izraženijem potpunom odbijanju multikulturalizma i imigracije. Nova populistička stranka Pokret pet zvjezdica (M5S) osvanula je na talijanskoj sceni 2010. godine te je u njezinu slučaju tema useljeništva tek nedavno uvrštena na populistički raspored. Stajalište stranke M5S o pitanju imigracije nejasan je i često proturječan. Nesklonost jasnom stajalištu povezana je kako sa složenom organizacijom stranke tako i s njezinom strategijom usklađivanja političkih stajališta stranke s glasom naroda