Monday 10 September 2007

"Party Leaders and the Media" - call for papers

UK Political Studies Association (PSA) Annual Conference, 1 - 3 April 2008


The Media and Politics Specialist Group and the Italian Politics Specialist Group of the PSA are seeking to organise panels on "Party leaders and the Media":

The ability of political parties to select charismatic, media-savvy leaders is often crucial to electoral success. Scholars have debated the increasing tabloidisation of media outlets, which in turn means that attention-seeking, spectacular initiatives and the use of unorthodox language all enjoy prominence in the media and manage to capture public attention. The process is exacerbated by (and possibly contributes to) the simultaneous, and increasing, disaffection towards traditional party politics shown by large sections of the electorate.

These panels discuss how the media affects key-words, strategies of communication and language employed by political leaders, i.e. what has the media done to leadership. While we are interested in the discussion of single country case-studies, comparative papers will be particularly welcome.

Proposals, in the region of 200 words, should be sent, by 21 September, to Daniele Albertazzi, d.albertazzi@bham.ac.uk.

Sunday 9 September 2007

Call for papers on southern European politics

UK Political Studies Association (PSA) Annual Conference, 1 - 3 April 2008

CALL FOR PAPERS

A major theme in comparative European politics in recent years has been the decline of southern European 'exceptionalism' - the theme that various similarities that differentiated the southern European countries from their northern European counterparts have progressively disappeared or at least become considerably less pronounced. In order to explore this thesis (and expecially the factors that may be responsible for it and the sectors in which it does, and does not hold up), the Greek Politics Specialist Group and the Italian Politics Specialist Group are seeking to organise a panel or panels on the theme of southern European politics. Papers focussing on any of the following topics will especially welcome:

  • Security and/or foreign policy

  • Public administration and/or the welfare state

  • Party and electoral politics
  • Papers may have a case-study focus, and thus focus on one southern European country, or else they may focus on more than one country.



Proposals, in the region of 200 words, should be sent, by 21 September, to Dimitris Tsarouhas, Antonios Aggelakis and James Newell

Tuesday 3 April 2007

Group ABM in Bath

The annual Business Meeting of the UK Political Studies Association's (PSA's) Italian Politics Specialist Group will take place at the PSA annual conference in Bath on 12 April.

  • Time 13:00
  • Venue: room 8W2.8

We look forward to meeting those of you who will be at the PSA this year. Any items to be placed on the ABM Agenda should be emailed, by this Friday (6th) to Jim Newell.

In addition, if you have not yet replied to the earlier invitation to be present at the Specialist Group's annual dinner and you would like a place reserving for you, again, Jim would appreciate hearing from you by Friday. The dinner will take place on 11 April at 20:00, at Same Same But Diferent, 7a Princes Buildings (off George Street).

Thursday 22 February 2007

XI Convegno SISP: Catania, 20-22 September 2007

Il prossimo Convegno SISP si terrà a Catania dal 20 al 22 settembre 2007. Sul sito web della SISP, nella pagina di presentazione del Congresso annuale, ci sono le linee guida con l'indicazione di tutte le prossime scadenze. Anche il programma preliminare del Congresso è in rete.
Entro il 31 gennaio 2007 si possono presentare proposte di Sezioni Tematiche di panels. Ogni sezione è organizzata da un coordinatore che riceve e seleziona le proposte di panels. Le proposte di sezione tematica devono essere inviate via e-mail alla Segreteria SISP e contenere il nome del coordinatore, una breve descrizione del tema ed ogni informazione utile a valutarne la rilevanza. Il coordinatore deve avere un'esperienza ampia e riconosciuta nell'area tematica proposta. Deve, inoltre, accettare di svolgere la sua funzione secondo le linee guida definite nella Presentazione del Congresso.

Recently published (Jan. 2007)

  • Allum, F. (2006): Camorristi, Politicians and Businessmen, Organized Crime in post-war Naples. Northern Universities Press.
  • Giannetti, D. and Elisabetta De Giorni (2006): “The 2006 Italian general elections: issues, dimensions and policy positions of political parties”. Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Volume 11(4).
  • Newell, J.L (2006): “The Italian election of May 2006: Myths and realities”. West European Politics, Volume 29(4).
  • Pappalardo, A. (2006): “Italian bipolarism and the elections of 2006. End of the line or just a connecting stop?” Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Volume 11(4).
  • Pasquino, G. (2006): “The Italian political system after the 9 – 10 April 2006 elections”. Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Volume 11(4).

Monday 12 February 2007

Papers presented at PSA conference in Leicester, 2003

The following papers on Italian politics were presented at the PSA's Annual Conference, held in Leicester between the 15th and 17th April 2003.

Decentralisation Reforms in France and Italy
(panel organised in conjunction with the French Politics Specialist Group)

Chair: Robert Elgie (Dublin City)
Discussant: Charlie Jeffery (Birmingham)
  • Alistair Cole (Cardiff): “Decentralisation in France: Back to Grass Roots or Steering at a Distance”.
  • Paul Furlong (Cardiff): “The Constitutional Context of Reform in Italy”
  • Susan Milner (Bath): “Urban governance and local democracy, a case study of Lille
Italian Politics I: Party Politics at the National and Sub-National Levels

Chair: Jim Newell (Salford)
Discussant: Gianfranco Pasquino (Bologna)
  • Simon Parker (York) & Duncan McDonnell (York): “Devolution or Neo-Centralism? Centre Left City Governments in Centre Right Regions: The Cases of Venice and Genoa
  • Vincenzo Arnone (Fucam, Belgium), Florence Terranova (Exeter) & Luca Blasi (La Sapienza): “Convergence and Divergence Among Political Coalitions: A Multi-Criteria Analysis applied to the Last Italian Elections”

Italian Politics II: the Second Berlusconi Government

Chair: Jim Newell (Salford)
  • Gianfranco Pasquino (Bologna): “The Government, the Opposition and the President of the Republic Under Berlusconi”
  • Osvaldo Croci (Memorial, Canada): “The Second Berlusconi Government and Italian Foreign Policy”
  • Franca Roncarolo (Turin): “The use of communication as a political resource by Berlusconi
Presidentialism in France and Italy
(panel organised in conjunction with the French Politics Specialist Group)

Chair: Robert Elgie (Dublin City)
Discussant: Paul Webb (Sussex)
  • Ben Cliff (Brunel): “The Presidentialisation of the French Polity: Structural and Contingent”
  • Mark Donovan (Cardiff): “Semi-presidentialism in Italy: From Taboo to Taboo”

Heading Towards Oblivion? Changing Fortunes of the Lega Nord

Chair: Mark Donovan (Cardiff)
Discussant: Jim Newell (Salford)
  • Daniele Albertazzi (Christ Church, Canterbury): “Difference and Identity in the Lega’s Propaganda. Two Content Analyses”
  • Benito Giordano (Manchester): “The Anatomy of Decline of the Lega Nord in Veneto: Transitory or Terminal?”
Political Corruption and Organised Crime in Italy

Chair: Mark Donovan (Cardiff)
Discussant: Daniele Albertazzi (Christ Church, Canterbury)
  • Jim Newell (Salford): “Corruption Mitigating Policies in Italy”
  • Felia Allum (Bath): “The Struggle Against Organised Crime in Italy”

Papers presented on Italian politics in Aberdeen, 2002

The following papers were presented at specialist group panels at the Political Studies Association's 52nd Annual Conference in Aberdeen, between the 5th and 7th April 2002.

Transition in Italian Politics I
  • Mi-Kyung Kim (Texas A&M University): ‘Government Stability, Public Debt and Italian Electoral Reform: An Intervention Time Series Analysis (1994-2000)’.
  • Mark Donovan (University of Wales, Cardiff): ‘Italy: Rebuilding the Nation State’.
Transition in Italian Politics II
  • Anna Bull (University of Bath): ‘Towards a federal state? Competing proposals for reforming Italy’ s centre-periphery relations’.
  • Carl Levy (Goldsmiths College, London): ‘Italian Regionalism 1992-2002’.
Transition in Italian Politics III
  • Osvaldo Croci (Memorial University of Newfoundland): ‘Italian foreign policy in the 1990s’.
  • Luca Ratti (University of Wales, Cardiff): ‘Continuity and consensus in Italian foreign policy’.
Transition in Italian Politics IV
  • Benito Giordano (University of Manchester): ‘The May 2001 general election in Italy and the demise of the Northern League’.
  • Mark Donovan (University of Wales, Cardiff): ‘Berlusconi, strong government and the Italian state’.

Members of the Specialist Group


Name
Daniele Albertazzi
University
The University of Birmingham
Position
Senior Lecturer in European Media
Address

The University of Birmingham
Centre for European Languages and Cultures
Ashley building
Edgbaston
Birmingham B15 2TT
Telephone
+44 (0)121 4147 503
E-mail
d.albertazzi@bham.ac.uk
Research interests
Political communication; Western European populism.


Name
Percy Allum
University
Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
p.allum@tiscalinet.it
Research interests




Name
Geoff Andrews
University
Open University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
G.L.Andrews@open.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Tom Behan
University
University of Kent at Canterbury
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
T.H.Behan@ukc.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Prof Richard Bellamy
University
Reading University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
r.p.bellamy@reading.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Prof Anna Bull
University
University of Bath
Position
Professor of Italian Studies, Department of European Studies and Modern Languages
Address


Telephone

E-mail
a.bull@bath.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Prof. Martin J. Bull
University
University of Salford
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
m.j.bull@salford.ac.uk
Research interests
Contemporary Italian Politics
The Italian Communist Party
The Political Left



Name
Sonia Bussu
University
London School of Economics
Position
MPhil/PhD student
Address


Telephone

E-mail
S.bussu@lse.ac.uk
Research interests

Italian politics; Urban governance; Participatory democracy.


Name
Dr Donatella Campus
University
University of Bologna
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
dcam@interfree.it
Research interests




Name
Prof. Giliberto Capano
University
University of Bologna
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
gcapano@sun1.spfo.unibo.it
Research interests




Name
Eero Carroll
University
SOFI, Stockholm University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
Eero.Carroll@sofi.su.se
Research interests




Name
Prof. Roberto Cartocci
University
University of Bologna
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
cartocci@ats.it
Research interests




Name
Prof. Luciano Cheles
University
University of Poitiers, France
Position
Professor of Italian Studies
Address


Telephone

E-mail
cheles@noos.fr
Research interests
Italian propaganda and political communication, from Fascism to the present.


Name
Dr. Alastair Clark

University
Queen's University, Belfast

Position
Lecturer

Address


E-mail
a.j.clark@qub.ac.uk

Research interests
Comparative political parties and party organisation; comparative party systems; electoral and local politics; and political participation


Name
Rino Coluccello
University
Coventry University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
s.coluccello@coventry.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Nicolò Conti
University
Centre for the Study of Political Change (CIRCAP), University of Siena
Position
Research Fellow
Address

Via Mattioli, 10 53100 Siena, Italy
Telephone

E-mail

Research interests
Parties and party systems, Europeanisation, Euroscepticism research projects Domestic elites and their attitudes toward the EU teaching Comparative Politics, Methodology for the Social Sciences, Italian Politics



Name
Prof. Oslvaldo Croci
University
Memorial University, Newfoundland
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
ocroci@mun.ca
Research interests




Name
Prof. Donatella della Porta
University
University of Florence
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
dellaporta@mail.unifi.it
Research interests




Name
Prof. Mario Diani
University
University of Trento
Position
Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Social Research
Address


Telephone

E-mail
mario.diani@soc.unitn.it
Research interests
social movements and collective action theory;
the network analysis of political processes;
environmental politics;
ethnonationalist movements;
social capital



Name
Alessia Donà
University
University of Siena
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail

Research interests




Name
Dr Mark Donovan
University
Cardiff University
Position

Address



Cardiff University
School of European Studies
PO Box 908
CARDIFF CF10 3YQ
UK
Telephone
+44-(0)29-2087-4727
E-mail
Donovan@Cardiff.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Phil Edwards
University
University of Salford
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail

Research interests
Protest cycles and political change
Radical social movements of the 1960s and 1970s
The uniqueness of the Italian Communist Party



Name
Ilaria Favretto
University
Kingston University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
I.Favretto@Kingston.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Dr John Foot
University
UCL
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
j.foot@ucl.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Ernesto Gallo
University
University of Turin / Univ. of Birmingham
Position
Post-doctoral student, dept. of Politics / Visiting Lecturer, Department of Italian Studies
Address


Telephone

E-mail
e.gallo@bham.ac.uk
Research interests

international relations theory;
historical sociology and change (Italy, Spain);
European federalism and globalisation;
political thought (Machiavelli, Gramsci, Bobbio).


Name
Walter Geerts
University
University of Antwerp, Belgium
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
walter.geerts@pandora.be
Research interests




Name
Dr Benito Giordano
University
University of Manchester
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
benito.giordano@man.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Dr David Hine
University
Oxford University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
david.hine@chch.ox.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Dr Jonathan Hopkin
University
University of Birmingham
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
J.R.Hopkin@bham.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
James Martin
University
Goldsmiths College, University of London
Position

Address


Department of Social Policy & Politics
Goldsmiths College
University of London
New Cross
London SE14 6NW
Telephone
0207 919 7754
E-mail
j.martin@gold.ac.uk
Research interests
Italian political thought and ideologies (20th C.)
Liberal socialism
Italian Communism
The Resistance and anti-Fascism
The Italian State (20th C.)



Name
Bruno Mascitelli
University
Swinburne University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
BMascitelli@groupwise.swin.edu.au
Research interests





Name
William McMurtrie
University

Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
wmcmurtrie@hct.ac.ae
Research interests
The
rediscovery of Spinoza within leftist political philosophy (Althusser,
Balibar, Badiou .../ Deleuze, Negri, Virno ..).



Name
Caterina Paolucci
University
European University Institute
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
cpaolucci@inwind.it
Research interests




Name
Prof. Gianfranco Pasquino
University
University of Bologna
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
gfrpsq@tin.it
Research interests




Name
Prof. Simona Piattoni
University
University of Trento
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
simona.piattoni@soc.unitn.it
Research interests




Name
Nana Rodaki
University
Lancaster University
Position
PhD student
Address
County South,
Lancaster University,
Bailrigg,
Lancaster LA1 4YD,
UK

Telephone

E-mail
a.rodaki@lancaster.ac.uk
Research interests

Cultural Political Economy,Information Age, the Knowledge-based economy


Name
Sarah Rose
University
University of Birmingham
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
sarahrose@slr17.freeserve.co.uk
Research interests




Name
Prof Carlo Ruzza
University
Essex University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
cruzza@essex.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Darrow Scheter
University
Sussex University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail

Research interests




Name
Daniela Sicrelli
University
Trento University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
dsicurel@hotmail.com
Research interests




Name
Francesco Stolfi
University
University College Dublin
Position
Research Fellow
Address
School of Politics and International Relations
Belfield - Dublin 4

Telephone
+353-1-7167502
E-mail
fstolfi@ucd.ie
Research interests

Fiscal Policy
Fiscal Federalism
Public Administration Reform
Core Executive



Name
Luigina Toscano-Davies

University
Cardiff School of European Studies, Cardiff University

Address
Cardiff University

65-68 Park Place

Cardiff CF10 3AS

Wales UK

E-mail
toscanol@cf.ac.uk

Research interests
Female employment policy in Europe and Italy



Name
Christina Ujma
University
Loughborough University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
C.Ujma@lboro.ac.uk
Research interests




Name
Prof. Luca Verzichelli
University
University of Siena
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
verzichelli@unisi.it
Research interests




Name
Paul Webb
University
Sussex University
Position

Address


Telephone

E-mail
P.Webb@sussex.ac.uk
Research interests


Name
Manuela Williams
University
Strathclyde University
Position
Lecturer in Modern European History
Address


University of Strathclyde

McCance Building

16 Richmond Street

Glasgow

G1 1XQ

Telephone

+44 141 548 2231
E-mail

manuela.williams@strath.ac.uk
Research interests


Italian and European political history (20th C.)

Propaganda and political communication

Political and social history of the Middle East (20th C.)

Intelligence and international security and conflicts

Sunday 11 February 2007

Executive Committee 2009 - 2011

Co-Convenor and Secretary: Daniele Albertazzi (d.albertazzi@bham.ac.uk);
Co-Convenor and Conference Officer: Duncan McDonnell (duncan.mcdonnell@unito.it);
Chair: Paul Furlong (furlongp@cardiff.ac.uk);
Treasurer: Jim Newell (j.l.newell@salford.ac.uk);
Membership Secretary: Mark Donovan (donovan@Cardiff.ac.uk);
Communications and Postgraduate Officer: Chris Hanretty (chris.hanretty@eui.eu);
Congrips Liason Officer: Maurizio Carbone (m.carbone@lbss.gla.ac.uk).

Group founded in July 2001 by Felia Allum and Jim Newell.