The year of Covid-19. Italy at a crossroads

Date

2021-04-07

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

ISSN

2324-8831

Volume Title

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Type

Article

Peer reviewed

Yes

Abstract

Drawing on the concept of critical juncture, in this article we argue that the scale and impact of an ‘extraordinary’ event such as the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be understood in full without acknowl-edging the pre-existing conditions of a country and its path- dependent trajectory. Against this background, we first assess the institutional legacy of the Covid-19 crisis in Italy, analysing the evolution of political dynamics within the coalition government that led the country in 2020, as well as the governance capacity and legitimacy of the main political actors involved in the manage-ment of the pandemic. Second, to shed further light on how Covid- 19 has impacted on the institutional dimension, we look at multi-level governance and the relationship between central and regional governments during the pandemic. We argue that the sudden and long-lasting ‘shock’ prompted by Covid-19 has disrupted the already fragile equilibria of the Italian system, impacting in a most profound way on its politics, institutions and society. And yet, while in the short term, the critical juncture of Covid-19 opened the way to new, unexpected changes, towards the end of the year pre- existing, systemic conditions prevailed.

Description

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.

Keywords

Covid-19, critical juncture, conte government, multilevel governance, Italy

Citation

Giovannini, A. and Mosca, L. (2021) The year of Covid-19. Italy at a crossroads, Contemporary Italian Politics,

Rights

Research Institute