Giovanni Barbieri

The chapter intends to discuss if there exist a common European media approach to the role and the responsibilities of the EU, at least at the level of the quality and business press.
Some cross-national divergences in how media represent EU are already notorious and incontrovertible. A difference between UK and all the other countries has been repeatedly stressed by most research on the topic. But are contrasts limited only to UK or do involve also other countries? And do such contrasts, if they exist, allow us to argue that EU is still a part of the media domestic political framework? Or, on the contrary, cross-national differences pale in comparison with the emergence of a common representation of Europe? And is the citizens’ view of Europe somehow linked or does it contradict national media coverage? The chapter will try to answer such questions by illustrating and discussing: a) how the European press has described and interpreted the role of the European institutions, i.e. the EU and the ECB; b) how the European press has made predictions on possible consequences of the crisis, in particular about the reinforcement of the EU role; c) how popular trust in the effectiveness of EU -measured through the Eurobarometer data- is consistent with the emerging trends in the media coverage.

In tale contributo si analizzano quali siano l’agenda tematica degli elettori nel corso dell’ultima campagna elettorale del 2018, le sue possibili variazioni nel corso della campagna stessa, le sue similarità, o meno, con quelle registratasi negli appuntamenti elettorali succedutisi dal 2000 ad oggi . Successivamente si indaga se elettori con caratteristiche differenti tendano a segnalare priorità di natura differente. Infine ci si sposta ad analizzare il possibile legame intercorrente fra segnalazione delle priorità e intenzione di voto.

In The Fifth Cleavage: Genealogy of the Populist Ideology and Parties, Giovanni Barbieri proposes an in-depth analysis of populism as one of the central phenomena in the contemporary public and political debate. Specifically, this study aims to investigate the causes of the emergence of populism and its possible effects on the political system and democratic institutions. The central thesis of the book is that populism is originated by a cleavage between two opposite groups—the people and the elite—which appeared for the first time soon after the democratic revolutions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This cleavage is not constantly active, but it tends to reactivate itself only under certain circumstances, when certain critical junctures occur, thus giving rise to different “waves” of populism. When the “populist cleavage” is active, the other lines of division and conflict (of class, of religion, etc.) lose their relevance. What are the features of this cleavage? What kind of relationship does it have with the well-known traditional cleavages (capital-labor, state-church, urban-rural, center-periphery)? What are the characteristics of the recent “wave” of populism? And what are its effects on the functioning of democracy? These are the main questions to which this book is devoted.

Il successo riscosso dal Movimento 5 stelle alle ultime elezioni politiche è frutto di vari
fattori. Fra questi, va inclusa una efficace campagna elettorale, che ha avuto nello Tsunami
tour il suo momento di maggiore visibilità. La doppia natura comizio-spettacolo
del tour ha consentito di recuperare quella centralità della «piazza» come luogo d’incontro
e confronto politico e quella partecipazione trasversale che si erano andati perdendo
nel corso del tempo; la capacità di svelare le criticità e anomalie della situazione
italiana e le accuse rivolte a una classe dirigente corrotta e disumana hanno consentito
a Grillo di far vibrare le corde emotive su cui si strutturano le opinioni e le convinzioni
degli elettori; l’effetto rimbalzo di cui ha goduto il tour ha infine permesso al fondatore
del Movimento 5 stelle di essere sempre presente nei media tradizionali.

How has the Eurozone crisis been covered in the Italian press? Who has been identified
as bearing the main responsibility for the crisis? What is the image of the European Union (EU) that has emerged from this coverage? This article aims to answer such questions through a content analysis of four Italian newspapers (Il Sole 24 Ore, Corriere della Sera, la Repubblica and il Giornale) during 11 periods between 2010 and 2012. In our perspective, the topic we address is particularly important for two reasons: first, because the continuing Euro crisis is the most significant threat facing the EU’s very existence since its formation, and second, because the media, through the coverage they provide, contribute to build both Europe and the support it needs to prosper.

In recent years the Northern League has begun to acquire growing support in the regions of Central Italy (the so-called Red Belt). With the principle objective of clarifying the reasons for the League's expansion here, an investigation was undertaken to assess the hypothesis that growing concern generated by the phenomenon of immigration, as well as the inability of the red sub-culture to supply adequate responses to the demands of the peripheral territory, have given the League greater chances for success. In this way I proceed to a quantitative analysis aimed at reconstructing the electoral evolution of the League and at identifying its strongholds within the Red Belt; the analysis is enriched by in-depth interviews with national and provincial secretaries from the party. Results confirm the hypothesis and highlight the importance of a third aspect: the League's constant effort to put down territorial roots.

One of the most important reasons for the expansion of Eurosceptic parties is the worsening of the economic crisis. This and, more generally, the processes of globalization/denationalization have not had the same effects for all citizens; a new structural conflict, opposing the " winners " and " losers " of globalization , has arisen. Usually the mainstream political parties tend to take the " winners' " side, while the peripheral parties tend to adopt a " loser's " ' programme and to use Euroscepticism as a mobilizing issue; the electoral constituency of the Eurosceptic parties is therefore formed, above all, by the " losers " of globalization. The 2014 European elections represented an important turning point for the Eurosceptic parties; they obtained an unprecedentedly large percentage of votes, but no " political earthquake " , " sweeps " , or " Eu-rope's populist backlash " occurred. The Eurosceptic parties have never been able to form a joint anti-European front, because of their mutual mistrust. " He's worse than me " , could be the statement that best epitomizes the relationships within the Eurosceptic right-wing camp. A further exacerbation of the economic crisis and/or the inability of the EU institutions in addressing it could lead such parties towards new and more considerable achievements.

The article deals with one of the most influential and renowed book of Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. After dwelling on the historical and intellectual background of the book, on its main thesis, and on its reception and criticism, the article focuses on the Huntigton’s analysis of Ukraine, viewed by the author as a cleft country. Embracing a culturalist approach to the international relations, the article tries to deepen the Huntington thesis arguing that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine implies a clash between the different geopolitical representations that these great powers have of themselves. Finally, it raises the question of the current relevance and applicability of the Huntington proposals aimed to avoid the outbreak of catastrophical conflicts on a global scale.

Giuseppe Conte, Matteo Renzi, Mario Draghi. L’eroe, antieroe, il supereroe. Le vicende recenti della politica italiana – caratterizzate da un alto tasso di personalizzazione, a fronte della crescente debolezza dei partiti politici – si prestano bene ad una narrazione epica
basata appunto sul ruolo preponderante svolto dai singoli leader, ognuno
dei quali portatore di uno specifico stile di condotta e di caratteristiche,
politiche e temperamentali, a loro volta uniche e peculiari. Nell’epoca
della spettacolarizzazione, la lotta politica diviene sempre più, nella
rappresentazione mediatica e nella percezione dell’opinione pubblica, scontro tra individualità ‘eccezionali’ (nel bene come nel male). Col rischio di smarrire la dinamica vera e profonda della politica,
riconducibile alla dialettica tra forze sociali, gruppi organizzati e blocchi
d’interesse.

The article analyzes how the press in 10 European countries portrayed the Euro crisis.
It aims at identifying the main interpretations given to the crisis and at evaluating to what extent such interpretations were influenced by variables such as the national belonging, the newspapers’ typology, and ideological orientation. By applying the technique of the multiple correspondence analysis, we highlighted that the interpretations of the
Euro crisis were organized along four major dimensions: (1) accuracy, (2) magnitude and accountability mechanism, (3) attitude and expectations, and (4) characterization.
Results suggest that facing common problems did not encourage the press of different states to cover the Euro crisis in a similar way. Rather, the most interesting finding appears to be the prevalent intra-country homogeneity that reveals similarities among different newspapers’ types.

Dopo avere fornito alcuni cenni sulla genesi del Trattato di Sociologia, l’approccio metodologico adottato e le influenze subite, si anticipa
come Pareto proponga una lettura del reale basata essenzialmente su opposizioni binarie e come egli propenda per una proficua sintesi fra esse ovvero come egli prediliga sempre quella che può essere definita la “giusta via di mezzo”; si mostra come sia tale lettura sia tale via vengano
applicate allo studio del sistema sociale, di quello economico e, infine, di
quello politico; si rileva infine come, anche da un punto di vista politico, Pareto apprezzi le iniziative e le forme di governo basati su
un “giusto” mix fra l’uso della forza e la ricerca del consenso .
La parte finale di questo contributo è invece mossa dall’obiettivo di
mostrare se e in quale misura il Trattato sia ancora un’opera attuale.

È possibile “leggere” le trasformazioni della democrazia avvenute nell’età berlusconiana attraverso il concetto di plutocrazia demagogica? È questa la sfida che si affronta nel testo, utilizzando un approccio prevalentemente orientato al decision making. Dopo aver ripercorso la “storia” del concetto di plutocrazia e dopo essersi soffermato sulle principali interpretazioni dell’età berlusconiana, il testo procede infatti a un’analisi serrata di tre “casi cruciali” di studio: l’affaire Alitalia; le innovazioni nella Protezione Civile e la gestione dei grandi eventi; lo scudo fiscale.