Italian Populism and Constitutional Law: Strategies, Conflicts and Dilemmas (Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century)

Acknowledgement
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Chapter 1: Introduction: A Constitutional Viewpoint on Italian Populism
	Concept Behind the Book
	Structure of the Volume
	References
Chapter 2: Populism and Constitutional Reform. The Case of Italy
	Introduction
	Populism and Constitutionalism
		Majoritarianism
		Instrumentalism
		Legal Resentment
	Projects of Constitutional Reform in Italy
		Majoritarianism
		Instrumentalism
		Legal Resentment
	Concluding Remarks
	References
Part I
	Chapter 3: Is There a Populist Turn in the Italian Parliament? Continuity and Discontinuity in the Non-legislative Procedures
		The Italian Parliament: A Story of Gradual (Self-)Disempowerment
		Brief Reflections on How Italian Populist Forces Aim to Influence the Status of MPs
		The ‘Populist Design’ of Parliamentary Procedures: Transparency at Any Cost
		Do Populist Forces Trump or Contribute to Enhance Parliamentary Oversight?
			Committees of Enquiry
			Question Time
		Final Remarks
		References
	Chapter 4: Populism and Referendum: The Italian Debate from a Comparative Perspective
		The End of Representative Democracy?
		How Populists Understand the Referendum
		Referendum and Constitutional Law: An Instrument to Handle with Care
		How Constitutions Coordinate Referendums and Representative Democracy
		The Italian Constitutional Frame
		References
	Chapter 5: Populism and Constitutional Amendment
		Introduction
		Setting the Scene: Populism, Anti-Pluralism and Contemporary Constitutionalism
		The Populist Denial of the Distinction Between Constitutional and Ordinary Politics
		Constitutional Amendment, Constitutional Replacement and Constitutional Sabotage
		Constitutional Remedies Against the Populist Attack on the Constitution
		The Populist Impulses Accompanying the Never-Ending Italian Experience of Constitutional Reform
		References
	Chapter 6: Populism and Law-Making Process
		Introduction
		The Relevance of Legislative Procedure Facing the Populist Challenge
		Tendencies of the Law-Making Process During the First Conte Government
		Concluding Remarks
		References
	Chapter 7: Populism and Government: Continuity and Paradoxes in the Yellow-Green Experiment
		Introductory Remarks
		Populism, the Executive, and Constitutional Law: A General Overview
		The Genesis of the First Conte Government: The “Contract for Government”
		The Structure and Operation of the First Conte Government
		Concluding Remarks
		References
	Chapter 8: “Kicking the Can Down the Road” Deferring Fiscal Adjustment as a Premise for Italian Budgetary Populism
		Introduction: The Budget Role for a Populist Constitutional Project
		The Deep Roots of a Bipartisan Populist Approach in the Italian Budgeting Process
		The Impact of Budgetary Populism on the EU and Italian Constitutional Framework
		What Remedies Against Constitutional Budgetary Populism?
		References
Part II
	Chapter 9: Italian Populism and Fake News on the Internet: A New Political Weapon in the Public Discourse
		Introduction
		Fake News and the Paradigm of Freedom of Information in Italy: The Advent of Internet Platforms
		Fake News and Populism: Between Political Propaganda and Media Regulation
		Constitutional Challenges and Possible Solutions
		Final Remarks
		References
	Chapter 10: Rise of Populism and the Five Star Movement Model: An Italian Case Study
		Introduction
		Political Parties in the Italian Constitution
		How the Five Star Movement Entered the Political Arena: The Internet as Enabling Factor for the People to Contrast Elites
		Pars Destruens: Some Critical Remarks on the Five Star Movement
		Pars Construens: Making Political Parties Democratic Again?
		References
	Chapter 11: Populism, Science and the Italian Democracy
		Introduction
		Science, Policymaking, and the Populist Discourse
		Vaccine Scepticism and the Protection of Public Health
		Unvalidated Therapies: The Italian “Stamina” Case
		Populism, Science, and Democracy
		References
	Chapter 12: “Le cose sono un po’ più complesse”: Constitutional Law and Religion in Italy and the Populist Challenge
		Introduction
		Constitutional Law and Religion in Italy
		The Italian Populist Experiment
		Populism and Religion in the Italian Constitutional Context
		Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 13: The Italian Way to Migration: Was It ‘True’ Populism? Populist Policies as Constitutional Antigens
		The Migration-Populist ‘Connection’: Always Incompatible with Constitutionalism?
		Populism and Migration: Three Degrees of Attraction
			Cultural Rhetoric, Political Narrative and Legal Action
		The Italian Way to Migration: Was It ‘True’ Populism?
		Migration Policies and Constitutional Pluralism: How Sustainable Are Populist Strategies?
		All Populism, No Populism? Populism as a Constitutional Antigen
		References
	Chapter 14: Does a Sub-State Dimension of Populism Exist?
		Populism Contained in the Nation-State
		Populism and the State Definition of People
		Populism and the Limitations of Popular Sovereignty
		The “Limit” of the Principle of Unity of the State
		Populism, Self-Determination or Simple Re-organization of Public Authority?
		References
	Chapter 15: Populism and Criminal Justice in Italy
		The Defining Problem
		“Penal Populism”
		A Loss of Humanity?
		Anti-Elite Criticism and the Criminal Justice System
		Legislative Populism: How Criminal Law, as We Know It, (Can) Die
		Immigration and Criminal Law
		The “Spazza Corrotti” Law
		Judicial Populism?
		Concluding Remarks
		References
Index