INSTITUT FÜR POLITIKWISSENSCHAFT PIFOPOLITISCHE ITALIEN-FORSCHUNG An alternative narrative of the Second Italian Republic: a view from the city Francesca Gelli Occasional Papers No. 5/2009 Hrsg. von Alexander Grasse ISSN: 1866 - 7619 www.italienforschung.de Impressum PIFO Politische Italien-Forschung Erscheinungsort: Gießen Hrsg.: Prof. Dr. Alexander Grasse Institut für Politikwissenschaft Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen Karl-Glöckner-Str. 21 E 35394 Gießen Tel.: 0641 - 9923091 (Sekr.) Tel.: 0641 - 9923090 Fax: 0641 - 9923099 E-Mail:
[email protected] ISSN: 1866 - 7619 Gießen, 2009 © Alexander Grasse http://www.italienforschung.de http://www.pifo.eu An alternative narrative of the Second Italian Republic: a view from the city An alternative narrative of the Second Italian Republic: a view from the city Contributions of American political science to the study of Italian urban politics1 Francesca Gelli Contents Page 1. First narrative: the crisis of the First Italian Republic in the ’90s and the foundations of the new, Second Republic 5 2. The federalist argument: local political leaders vs. national party politics 13 3. The proposal for a Northern Party vs. the coordination of Northern Regions 17 4. An alternative narrative: local foundations for a Second Italian Republic 22 5. Contributions of American political science to the understanding of the urban political process 30 6. “Who Governs?” (Robert A. Dahl) 35 7. “At the Pleasure of the Mayor” (Theodore Lowi) 41 8. The problem with case studies: challenging policy studies as a science of government 49 9. “Leadership in a Small Town” (Aaron Wildavsky) 52 10. Conceptualizing city politics and urban policies 59 11.