MACMILLAN The Party Politics of Decentralization: The Territorial Dimension in Italian Party Agendas (Comparative Territorial Politics)

This book addresses the process of decentralization in Italy, examined from the perspective of political parties. In particular, it assesses whether and to what extent the dynamics of party competition are likely to shape policy agenda and affect policy change. The author starts by providing a thorough account of the process and history of Italian decentralization and the policy outcomes achieved over time, before discussing how party attention to an issue triggers related policy changes (manipulation of salience). Next, the focus shifts to the concrete positions adopted by parties on decentralization to assess whether the pattern of party competition has been consensual or adversarial, and how this pattern influenced the process of reform (manipulation of position). Finally, the author examines the role of frames in party competition. This volume offers essential research that will prove useful to a variety of audiences, ranging from scholars of territorial and Italian politics to those interested in agenda-setting, policy change, and party politics. Review “The Party Politics of Decentralization: The Territorial Dimension in Italian Party Agendas by Linda Basile represents an insightful case study on the links between party competition and territorial reforms in Italy. … The Party Politics of Decentralization is a highly recommended read for researchers and students of party politics, and readers fond of quantitative text analysis.” (Patrick Utz, Regional & Federal Studies, October, 26, 2018) Review “Devolution of powers from the State to regions is a crucial issue in contemporary European politics, as the recent cases of Scotland and Catalonia demonstrate. In this book, Linda Basile unveils the role party politics plays in these processes, using Italy as a case study. Not only is the book the most accurate available reconstruction of Italian regionalization, but its research design, based on issue salience, party positions and frames, represents an innovative methodological contribution to the study of any policy area in any country.” (Filippo Tronconi, University of Bologna, Italy) From the Back Cover This book addresses the process of decentralization in Italy, examined from the perspective of political parties. In particular, it assesses whether and to what extent the dynamics of party competition are likely to shape policy agenda and affect policy change. The author starts by providing a thorough account of the process and history of Italian decentralization and the policy outcomes achieved over time, before discussing how party attention to an issue triggers related policy changes (manipulation of salience). Next, the focus shifts to the concrete positions adopted by parties on decentralization to assess whether the pattern of party competition has been consensual or adversarial, and how this pattern influenced the process of reform (manipulation of position). Finally, the author examines the role of frames in party competition. This volume offers essential research that will prove useful to a variety of audiences, ranging from scholars of territorial and Italian politics to those interested in agenda-setting, policy change, and party politics. About the Author Linda Basile is Research Fellow at the Department of Social, Political, and Cognitive Sciences of the University of Siena, Italy. Her work has been published in Party Politics and Regional & Federal Studies.