Italy Today represents one of the most comprehensive examinations of contemporary Italy. It is a provocative and an innovative collection that aims to highlight the current ‘crisis’ of the country through an analysis of several different ‘dark shadows’ of contemporary Italian society. Italy already had a long history of ‘unsolved’ issues, several chronic problems and contradictions that have been ignored for a very long time, during which they have assumed dramatic proportions and gravity. The peninsula has now become the ‘Sick Man of Europe’, a country facing a veritable decline also caused by apparent incapacity and difficulties of the ruling economic, political and social elites. Discussions include: an evaluation of the current predicaments of the political system - analysis of emerging mafias, including new powerful crime organizations such as ‘Ndrangheta - issues surrounding the ongoing presence of Fascism - examination of the recent xenophobic tensions - discussion of problems associated with the missed opportunity of the EU funding, and the increasing regional economic gaps - outline of the systemic troubles of Italy’s economic and industrial system. Written by leading experts in the field and covering a wide range of topics, this collection is essential reading for all those seeking to understand the issues and problems that are facing contemporary Italy. "Faced with the attention-seeking antics of Silvio Berlusconi and his political allies, increasingly the temptation is not to treat Italy seriously. The great achievement of the contributors to this excellent volume is to reach behind the façade of political posturing to show that Italy does matter, because the failure of Italy’s political system to come up with solutions to the chronic problems facing the country today poses questions that are relevant to all advanced democracies. Italy today, but where next?" - John Davis, University of Connecticut "Written by well known specialists and young researchers from Italy or outside, this book is dedicated to Contemporary Italy, considered as the sick man of Europe. All the aspects of its decline are studied in an interdisciplinary approach.'' - Marc Lazar, Sciences Po, Paris, France "When journalists talk about Italy, they have a tendency to focus their attention on the Prime Minister, his gaffes in public speeches, and scandals, and to dismiss other issues affecting the country. The book, Italy Today: the Sick Man of Europe seeks to fill this gap, providing an English-speaking audience with information about the Bel Paese that they will not find in regular newspapers. […] But Italy’s problems are not limited to Berlusconi’s lack of diplomacy and sense of the politically appropriate. Italy Today digs beneath the surface to explore the structural problems that would persist even if Berlusconi disappeared. Ultimately, the book offers a diagnosis of the malaise affecting the country; and as British historian Paul Corner suggests in the foreword, "Given the right diagnosis, sick men often get better." - Anna Pitton, Journalist "How is the current crisis and decline of contemporary Italy to be explained? Through its interdisciplinary analyses of old and new but unresolved issues affecting politics, the economy and society in Italy, this book seeks to give an answer to this important question. Across various sectors of the country, the past two decades have witnessed a growth in the explosion of latent problems in urgent need of extensive discussion. The book could not, therefore, be more timely. Unlike the existing books on Italy and its ‘shadows’, which usually focus either on the political and electoral systems or on the scandals and the transition to the Second Italian Republic, this edited volume – including contributions from leading experts and young scholars – seeks to offer a comprehensive picture of the Italian situation, looking simultaneously at political life, the economic system, history and society. Moreover, it seeks to analyse both the causes and the effects of the problems that have become typical of Italy and, most importantly, to link the present and the past when offering possible explanations. […]Many of the chapters also offer recommendations regarding possible policy solutions for the problems of this ‘sick man of Europe’, and this can be considered a further merit of the book." - Manuela Caiani, Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna "Il volume collettivo Italy Today. The Sick Man of Europe […] si propone come un invito alla diagnosi dei mali d’Italia. Secondo la migliore tradizione saggistica anglosassone, la raccolta, ricca di dati e solidamente ancorata all’analisi, si segnala inoltre per l’agilità della struttura e dei singoli contributi, che pur senza rinunciare al rigore scientifico sono fruibili anche da parte dei non addetti ai lavori. Nel complesso, è un’ottima base di partenza per un dibattito, sia scientifico sia militante, sull’Italia contemporanea, in pro