Bulletin of Italian Politics
The PDS-DS Parliamentary Discourse on Europe (1992─2005): The Cultural Challenge
University of St. Gallen
Abstract: Important work in comparative politics seeks to explain the pro-Europeanism of mainstream left-wing parties in the early 1990s as a response to global economic processes combined with a, simultaneous, continuing commitment to the social-democratic internationalist and universalist traditions. Yet, in view of the growing salience of anti- European narratives, a question arises: are mainstream left-wing parties still defending their support of cultural liberalism in the EU? This article addresses this question by focusing on the discourse on Europe of the mainstream Italian left-wing party, the PDS-DS. The findings presented in this article are based on a qualitative analysis of parliamentary debates on important European affairs (1992─2005). This article shows that although the mainstream Italian left-wing party remains lenient towards diversity and favourable to cultural openness, it has placed increasing stress on considerations of security and national concerns in recent years.
Introduction
Bulletin of Italian Politics ISNN: 1759-3077
Framework Studying party discourse on Europe political discourse Party discourse on Europe polity policy
autonomous entrenched in the West supranational empowering nation-states inclusion assimilation
open Europe closed Europe • Open Europe • Closed Europe
liberal Europe social Europe • Liberal Europe • Social Europe open Europe closed Europe social Europe liberal Europe
social- democratic line
altermondialiste
Analysing party’s discourse on Europe
Results
How does the party speak about Europe?
Table 1 What the party says when speaking about Europe
EU Treaty Topics mentioned discussed (25 25) 75 (0) (50) (0) (0) (75) (75) (50) (50) (25) (25) 40 0 80 0 0 40 0 20 100 20 100 40 80 11 11 89 21 56 67 33 78 67 56 89 40 44
Note Topic legend il mondo del lavoro l’opzione sociale
l’opzione democratica − −
European internal security
social Europe
Continuity and changes in the discourse on Europe open social Europe liberal Europe
closed Europe
Conclusion social Europe’
Notes Europe as a community of values
References
Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies Il Pds. Verso un Nuovo Modello di Partito? Exploring the Cultural Challenges to Social Democracy Political Studies Restructuring Europe. Centre Formation, System Building, and Political Structuring between the Nation State and the European Union South European Society Politics The Retreat of Social Democracy Comparative European Politics Discourse as Data. A Guide for Analysis Party Politics Gli Italiani e l’Europa
Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans Online European Political Science L’Europa in Italia Perspectives on European Politics and Society After the Third Way: The Future of Social Democracy in Europe West European Politics Cambridge Review of International Affairs Social Democracy and European Integration: the Politics of Preference Formation The European State and the Euro Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction Comparative Political Studies South European Society and Politics European Journal of Political Research Journal of European Public Policy Political Parties in the European Union
European Union Politics Multi-Level Governance in the European Union Comparative Political Studies German Politics Journal of Common Market Studies European Journal of International Relations European Societies The Transformation of European Social Democracy West European Politics European Journal of Political Research West European Politics in the Age of Globalisation Europeanization and National Politics Government and Opposition Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power Europeanization, Collective Identities and Public Discourses. Final Report Journal of European Public Policy
Journal of European Public Policy British Journal of Political Science Comparative Political Studies Polity, Interests, and Attitudes to European Integration West European Politics Mapping the West European Left , Journal of Modern Italian Studies Analysing Qualitative Data, Governing in Europe: Effective and Democratic? KFG Working Paper Series West European Politics ¨ Bulletin of Italian Politics, Political Linguistics Discourse and Society German Politics