Free Delivery Over $100
|
|
|||
|
||||
OverviewBased on an analytical evaluation of both the weaknesses and strengths of the Italian political system, Italy in the European Union is the first book to offer a detailed and comprehensive description of Italy's contribution to European Union policy-making. The contributors to this volume systematically explore the role played by Italian institutional and noninstitutional actors in several decision-making processes. They show how Italian institutional actors define and promote national policy preferences that are compatible with those of the other European member states. However, the book functions on two levels: it is both a nuanced picture of Italy's role in the EU and a study of the EU as it has been transformed by subsequent waves of enlargement. In a compound polity of twenty-seven member states the formation of stable hegemonic coalitions is implausible—the concept of national interest, which still informs much of the literature on the EU, is logically and empirically unusable in many EU policy realms. Combining empirical investigation and theoretical analysis, this book is indispensable for scholars, students, and practitioners who study or observe Italian politics. It is also necessary for those who want to understand the transformation of European politics and the European Union's increasing development as a compound polity. Contributions by: Marco Brunazzo, Maurizio Carbone, Sabrina Cavatorto, Vincent Della Sala, Alessia Donà, Sergio Fabbrini, Paolo Foradori, Giorgio Giraudi, Renata Lizzi, Simona Piattoni, Paolo Rosa, Stefano Sacchi, Alberta M. Sbragia, Daniela Sicurelli, and Luca Verzichelli Full Product DetailsAuthor: Sergio Fabbrini , Simona PiattoniPublisher: Rowman & Littlefield Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Dimensions: Width: 16.20cm , Height: 2.70cm , Length: 24.00cm Weight: 0.585kg ISBN: 9780742555655ISBN 10: 0742555658 Pages: 306 Publication Date: 28 November 2007 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsReviewsA fine collection of scholarship, well grounded in empirical reality. It clarifies important questions about Italian public policy and adds to our understanding of European integration without getting lost in its more sterile theoretical corners. -- David Hine, Oxford University This edited collection by Fabbrini and Piattoni provides us with an excellent contribution to the comparative politics and European studies literature. Focusing on the neglected role of Italy in Europeanization, and illustrated by case studies in areas of political economy, diplomacy and security, and social welfare, the authors assess arguments about state influence and preferences in shaping European governance. At the same time, by highlighting the heterogeneity of Italian influence in shaping European policymaking, and by illustrating how much Italian influence is constrained by larger institutional and political factors, the book provides key insights into the offensive and defensive solutions that Italy has used to shape market rules, promote valued national ideas, and foster public support for the European project. -- Michelle Egan, American University Italy in the European Union, coedited by Sergio Fabbrini and Simona Piattoni, is an important book and is especially noteworthy in two ways. First, the editors and authors consistently dispel the myth that Italy punches under its weight in the EU. Indeed, they convincingly attack the twin metaphors of giant versus pygmy as metaphorically misleading and lacking in analytical leverage. Second, their task is not so much to show that Italy is a major player as it is to shift the terms of debate to ask about the conditions under which specific actors (national, supranational, transnational) exert influence. This shift of focus implies that influence is not always or even usually best understood at the level of the member state. The editors and contributors move the discussion forward by elaborating several levels of analysis (not the conventional Waltzian ones) and substituting the pliable concept of policy preference for the blunt notion of an undifferentiated national interest. They are able to show that certain Italian policy actors, working within well-specified institutional contexts, are able to exert influence (or not) in accordance with theoretically predictable characteristics of these sectors, their institutional contexts, and the strategies and cognitive repertoires of the actors. This is an important book, for both its empirical and theoretical contributions. -- James A. Caporaso, University of Washington Italy in the EU, coedited by Sergio Fabbrini and Simona Piattoni, is an important book and is especially noteworthy in two ways. First, the editors and authors consistently dispel the myth that Italy punches under its weight in the EU. Indeed, they convincingly attack the twin metaphors of giant versus pygmy as metaphorically misleading and lacking in analytical leverage. Second, their task is not so much to show that Italy is a major player as it is to shift the terms of debate to ask about the conditions under which specific actors (national, supranational, transnational) exert influence. This shift of focus implies that influence is not always or even usually best understood at the level of the member state. The editors and contributors move the discussion forward by elaborating several levels of analysis (not the conventional Waltzian ones) and substituting the pliable concept of policy preference for the blunt notion of an undifferentiated national interest. They are able to Author InformationSergio Fabbrini is professor of political science and director of the School of International Studies at the University of Trento, Italy. Simona Piattoni is associate professor of political science at the University of Trento, Italy. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
||||
