Luca Verzichelli

This open access book offers a systematic survey of the attitudes and values of European political scientists. It builds a structural interpretation based on empirical data, as well as offering reflections on the future structure of the discipline. In the middle of a delicate phase of changes marked by the effects of pandemic and the war in Ukraine, we need to pay attention to the factors that are affecting not only the ‘objects’ of Political Science as a discipline but also its interactions with the world around it. First, this book asks to what extent the work of European political scientists is impacted by the current change. Second, their attitudes and predisposition about the future goals of the discipline are analysed. In the final chapter, the authors seek to understand to what extent a diffuse but still not completely institutionalized academic discipline will be able to produce a comprehensive impact around the European society, in order to be more visible and effective in policy making and policy processes.

This open access book offers a systematic survey of the attitudes and values of European political scientists. It builds a structural interpretation based on empirical data, as well as offering reflections on the future structure of the discipline. In the middle of a delicate phase of changes marked by the effects of pandemic and the war in Ukraine, we need to pay attention to the factors that are affecting not only the ‘objects’ of Political Science as a discipline but also its interactions with the world around it. First, this book asks to what extent the work of European political scientists is impacted by the current change. Second, their attitudes and predisposition about the future goals of the discipline are analysed. In the final chapter, the authors seek to understand to what extent a diffuse but still not completely institutionalized academic discipline will be able to produce a comprehensive impact around the European society, in order to be more visible and effective in policy making and policy processes.

The book focuses on the most recent developments in Italian politics, particularly those of the last 10-15 years. A longer historical perspective, covering the post-war period, is also supplied, providing the reader with the tools for understanding this period of change. The authors address a number of themes, paradoxes and problems inherent to Italian politics. The first theme concerns the shifting balance between the central administration and the periphery. The second theme concerns the divide between governing parties and permanent oppositions. The third theme relates to the mix of political discontinuity and instability with a simultaneous stability of political parties. Finally, the book considers the relationship between the Italian domestic system and the international system. In particular, it examines the impact of the East-West international divide on Italian politics and the Italian party system, and the relationship between Italy and Europe, and Italy's strong support of European integration.