Przegląd Narodowościowy / Review of Nationalities • nr 8/2018 • Nations without state or states without nations ISSN 2084-848X (print) • ISSN 2543-9391 (on-line) • DOI 10.2478/pn-2018-0006 Bartłomiej Secler* Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań, Poznań, Poland • https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1699-6642 Separatist and autonomous tendencies in modern Italy Introduction Abbiamo fatto l’Italia, ora dobbiamo fare gli italiani We have made Italy, now we have to do Italians – Massimo Taparelli d’Azeglio 1, I mieiricordi On October 22, 2017, a consultative referenda (Italian referendum consultativo 2) took place in Veneto and Lombardy regions in Italy, during which residents could express their views on the possible extension of the autonomy of these administrative units. How- ever, it should be clearly stated that in referenda was not about gaining independence and separating from the Italian Republic, which would be incompatible with the Ital- ian Constitution, that in Article 5 states that the state is uniform and indivisible 3. !is provision also expresses the principle of regional autonomy, i.e.: “the Republic [...] rec- ognizes and supports local self-government; implements the widest decentralization of administration in the activities of the services subject to the state; adapts the rules and system of its legislation to the requirements of self-government and decentralization” 4. !e wide scope of regional autonomy does not mean that in contemporary Italy there are no visible separatist tendencies and attempts to expand autonomy, as exemplified by the aforementioned referenda. However, such plebiscites are not legally binding. !e result (in the case of Veneto and Lombardy, a strong victory for advocates of extending autonomy was noted; see Table 1) may be an impulse for local authorities to negotiate with the state authorities to increase the regions’ powers. 1 Massimo d’Azeglio, Italian writer, politician, statesman living in 1798-1866. 2 M. Rovelli, A. Sala, Referendum sull’autonomia , http://www.corriere.it/referendum-autonomia-lom- bardia-e-veneto/diretta-live/17_ottobre_22/referendum-autonomia-quorum-superato-veneto-lombardia- voto-305percento-14f27496-b75c-11e7-9b0d-a33e3b4f370f.shtml [access on:18.12.2017]. 3 Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana, “Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana”, 1947, No. 298, http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/jsp/consulta/link/costituzione_en.do [access on: 29.12.2017]. 4 Ibidem . * Correspondence address: Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, ul. Umultowska 89A, 61-614 Poznań, Polska, e-mail: [email protected]. Bartłomiej Secler Table 1. Results of the referenda in the regions of Veneto and Lombardy on October 22, 2017 Region Veneto Lombardia Turnout 57.2% 38.25% entitled to vote 2,328,949 people entitled to vote 3,010,434 people For the autonomy 98.1% 95.29% Against the autonomy 1.9% 3.94% Invalid votes – 0.77% Source: based on the data of the Italian Ministry of the Interior (Italian Ministero dell’Interno ). Broadening the autonomy of the regions in political practice depends to a large ex- tent on the political will of the government. It is worth noting that in northern Italy, for example in the mentioned Lombardy, for many years there have been groups and organ- izations, such as the Northern League ( Lega Nord ), that base their political activity on separatist premises (Italian tendenze separatistiche ), thus striving to separate the north- ern regions from the rest of Italy and create a separate state with the capital in Milan. In this context, the situation arising from the decisions of the elections to the Chamber of Deputies and Senate (March 2018), which brought victory for the Northern League in the center-right bloc, is interesting, and its leader Matteo Salvini has become one of the serious candidates for the prime minister’s chair 5. Focusing on the autonomous diversity of the Apennine Peninsula, we cannot omit five regions enjoying the special statute (Italian statuto speciale ), which – as it is o$en pointed out in journalism – the other fi$een regions envy. Possessing an extraordinary statute through the Aosta Valley (Italian Valle d’Aosta ), Sardinia (Italian Sardegna ), Sic- ily (Italian Sicilia ), Trentino-Upper Adige (Italian Trentino-Alto Adige ), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italian Friuli -Venezia Giulia ) results directly in the provision of Article 116 of the Constitution of the Italian Republic. !ese regions retain autonomy in the legislative sphere (Italian autonomia legislativa ), administrative (Italian autonomia amministrativa ) and financial autonomy (Italian autonomia finanziaria ). !eir specific position does not result directly from the separatist tendencies and the insular nature of Sardinia and Sici- ly, or the presence in the territories of the other three linguistic and cultural minorities. !e aim of the article is to present the problems of separatist and autonomous as- pirations in contemporary Italy. Assuming the importance of historical conditions and the economic, cultural and political diversity of the Apennine Peninsula, both in the past and now, questions about the scale of separatist and autonomous aspirations, fac- tors affecting them, and the role of political organizations and groupings that increase the independence of regions or disconnecting them from the state become important. It is also worth paying attention to the condition of modern Italy regarding the ability of 5 At the time of publishing the text (beginning of May 2018), coalition talks between the Five Stars Mo- vement and the Northern League regarding the creation of a joint government lasted. !ere were, however, no clear political statements related to the name of the future prime minister. Przegląd Narodowościowy / Review of Nationalities nr 8/2018 Separatist and autonomous tendencies in modern Italy the state to maintain its internal order, ensuring integrity and territorial cohesion. !e considerations made here are part of the theoretical context of national separatism, to which I attribute a significant role in contemporary relations in Western Europe. !e intuitive method was used to analyze the concepts and problems. !e descriptive (mon- ographic) method was also applied, helpful in demonstrating the multi-faceted nature of the subject and recognizing the matter associated with it. !e argument is based on the analysis of sources and literature in Polish and Italian. At the outset, it is also important to note the difference between the terms “separa- tism” in the title of the sketch and the text; “separatism”, “separatist” and “autonomy”, “autonomous”, and the awareness of the author of these considerations as to their sep- arateness. Separatist tendencies are treated as disintegrating, splitting, isolationist, and autonomous as independent, self-governing, independent or sovereign. !is explana- tion is necessary because a misleading expression may arise that these terms used col- lectively (e.g. “separatist and autonomous tendencies”) are perceived as identical. Separatism and its determinants An important role in international relations is played by the national factor, which in recent years has become more and more significant in the countries of the Old Con- tinent. National worldviews of the nineteenth century, and among them nationalism, evolved in the direction of separatist aspirations that are the will of the nations to mark their separateness, and thus, justify the need to create their own sovereign state 6. Moni- ka Topczewska rightly notes that the renaissance of nationalist ideologies that give first place to national values constitute a contribution to the opposition of regional or na- tional particularisms to state nationalism 7. As in the case of separatism, the sources of autonomous concepts should be sought in the nineteenth century, which was obviously related to the nationalist processes re- vived at that time, the formation of national states or just the ambitions of nations. Au- tonomy, referring to the concept of territorial units, is generally defined in the literature of the subject as an admission of administrative and legislative independence. Moreo- ver, there are two basic types of autonomy, i.e. national and territorial ones, which con- stitute the right of self-determination according to a larger whole by residents living in a given area. !e desire for autonomy is usually manifested in actions taken by nation- al, linguistic, and religious minorities 8. Nowadays, as the researchers emphasize, na- tional autonomy is of territorial character and is usually found in countries with a mul- ti-ethnic structure, which results in the autonomous unit achieving partial independ- 6 See: E. Gellner, Narody i nacjonalizm , Warszawa 1991, pp. 58-60. 7 M. Topczewska, Separatyzmy narodowe w Europie Zachodniej , “Studia Europejskie” 2001, No. 1, p. 101. 8 Leksykon współczesnych międzynarodowych stosunków politycznych , edit. Cz. Mojsiewicz, Warszawa 2004, p. 32. Przegląd Narodowościowy / Review of Nationalities nr 8/2018 ! Bartłomiej Secler ence, the limits of which are provisions formulated in basic acts or other legal acts 9. !is is the case in Italy. Returning, however, to the phenomenon of separatism defined – which has been ac- centuated above – as a form of nationalism, which is definitely a broader concept, one can see the factors conducive to its creation and evolution. !e structural determinants o$en decide about the emergence and development of separatist tendencies, which means that the minorities displaying separatist tendencies are