The Politics of Italy: Governance in a Normal Country by James L. Newell - PDF free download eBook

This innovative text offers the reader a completely fresh approach to Italian politics by placing it in its historical, institutional, social and international contexts. Students will get to grips with the theories and concepts of comparative politics and how they apply specifically to Italy, while gaining real insight into more controversial topics such as the Mafia, corruption and the striking success of Berlusconi. Often regarded as an anomaly, Italy is frequently described in terms of crisis, instability and alienation. Sceptical of these conventional accounts, Newell argues that, if understood in its own terms, the Italian political system is just as effective as other established democracies.

James L. Newell is Professor of Politics in the School of English, Sociology, Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Salford. He is the author of Italian Politics: Adjustment under Duress (with Martin Bull, 2005) and Parties and Democracy in Italy (2000), as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters on Italian politics.