Politics and Rhetoric of Italian State Steel Privatisation: A Gramscian Analysis

Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Figures
Tables
About the Authors
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
	1.1 Our motivation in writing this book
	1.2 Post-factum
	1.3 Caveat: against indisputable technical solutions
	1.4 Global versus local interests: the dubious behaviour of ArcelorMittal
	1.5 How to read this book
		1.5.1 The three directions for our investigation
		1.5.2 The structure of this book
		1.5.3 The logic of analysis: a conceptual map
	Notes
	References
2. Institutional theory
	2.1 Isomorphism in privatisation policies
		2.1.1 Introduction
		2.1.2 The concept of isomorphism
		2.1.3 Institutionalism and the concept of institution
		2.1.4 Isomorphism in the global diffusion of policies: institutionalism and the world society theory
		2.1.5 The spread of neo-liberal policies and privatisations: the \"privatization wave\" isomorphism in steel privatisation
	2.2 Privatisations as institutional change
		2.2.1 Introduction
		2.2.2 The locus of institutional change: the concept of field
		2.2.3 The engine of institutional change: the concept of institutional entrepreneur
		2.2.4 The content of institutional entrepreneurship: the link with research in social movements
			2.2.4.1 Framing and the power of discourse
			2.2.4.2 The political activity of the skilled institutional entrepreneur
		2.2.5 The structural constraints to institutional entrepreneurship
			2.2.5.1 The concept of discursive opportunity structures
			2.2.5.2 The concept of political opportunity structures
	2.3 Explaining local variations in institutions and policies
		2.3.1 The Italian case as a local variation to be explained
		2.3.2 Explanations of local variations of privatisation policies in economics
		2.3.3 An institutional approach to the explanation of local variations of privatisation policies
	Note
	References
3. Gramscian theory of hegemony
	3.1 A Gramscian approach to the analysis of local variations of privatisation policies
	3.2 Gramsci and hegemony theory
		3.2.1 Why Gramsci?
		3.2.2 The concept of the historical bloc
		3.2.3 The concept of hegemony
		3.2.4 The discursive nature of hegemonic practices
		3.2.5 The political dimension of hegemony
		3.2.6 Consistency of Gramscian framework with institutional analysis
	References
4. Methodology
	4.1 Data collection process
		4.1.1 Data regarding the political opportunity structure and the economic structure
		4.1.2 Data regarding the discursive opportunity structure
			4.1.2.1 Newspapers\' articles for the qualitative analysis of the state steel privatisation during fragmentation and settlement (1984-1995)
			4.1.2.2 Newspapers\' articles for the semi-automatic analysis of the privatisation issue in Italy during fragmentation, settlement, and stabilisation (1984-2014)
	4.2 Logic of enquiry and methods of analysis
		4.2.1 Content analysis
		4.2.2 Multiple correspondence analysis
			4.2.2.1 Technical details on multiple correspondence analysis
		4.2.3 Topic Modeling
	Notes
	References
5. Latent meaning spaces
	5.1 Framing of the privatisation issue
		5.1.1 Systemic frames
		5.1.2 Tactical frames
		5.1.3 Technical frames
	5.2 Proposed privatisation models
	5.3 Latent meaning spaces
		5.3.1 MCA relating actors, frames, and positions toward privatisations: structure
		5.3.2 MCA relating actors and proposed privatisation models: discursive strategising
	Notes
	References
6. Fragmentation of the historical bloc
	6.1 The state of the field before the fragmentation phase
		6.1.1 IRI and the birth of the state economy in the post Second World War Italy
		6.1.2 IRI and the state steel
		6.1.3 A historical bloc
	6.2 The fragmentation phase
		6.2.1 Material pressures and the misalignment of economic interests during fragmentation
			6.2.1.1 The crisis of the Italian state-owned steel production system
			6.2.1.2 Privatisation and the economic interests of elites
		6.2.2 Political opportunity structure during fragmentation
			6.2.2.1 The issue of plant closure and state aid in the steel industry: a trigger for privatising
		6.2.3 Discursive opportunity structure during fragmentation
	6.3 Strategic manoeuvring in the field
		6.3.1 Political manoeuvring: search of alternative alignments
		6.3.2 Discursive manoeuvring: awakening of discursive battles
	6.4 Weaving together political and discursive manoeuvring: formation of competing hegemonic practices
	Notes
	References
7. Settlement of the historical bloc
	7.1 Heading towards the settlement of the field: how to re-align actors\' economic interests
		7.1.1 The material pressures agitating the steel field
			7.1.1.1 The economic interests of field\'s actors: why private producers liked privatisations
		7.1.2 Discursive opportunity structure during settlement
		7.1.3 Political opportunity structure during settlement
			7.1.3.1 The European Union, the discipline on state aid, and the pressure of privatisation
	7.2 Strategic manoeuvring in the field
		7.2.1 Discoursive manoeuvring: sedating antagonising logics of equivalence
		7.2.2 Political manoeuvring: the emerging of a winning alliance
	7.3 Weaving together political and discursive manoeuvring to re-align the interests of field\'s actors: A hegemonic practice emerges to solidify a new historical bloc
	Notes
	References
8. Stabilisation
	8.1 Topic modeling
		8.1.1 Clusters of topic
			8.1.1.1 Industries
				Topic 10 - Transportations
				Topic 11 - Manufacturing firms
				Topic 16 - Telecommunications and utilities
				Topic 17 - The credit system
				Topic 2 - Local services and municipal utilities
			8.1.1.2 Resistance
				Topic 5 - Labour and unions
				Topic 8 - Protests, students, and the civil society
				Topic 21 - Values of developmental state
				Topic 4 - Stigma privatisations
	8.2 Validation: privatisation of specific industries
	8.3 Resistance to privatisations in public discourse
	8.4 A long stabilisation
	Notes
	References
9. Conclusion
	9.1 The pedagogy and rhetoric of privatisations
	9.2 Using Gramscian theory of hegemony for explaining local variations in globally spreading policies
	9.3 Privatisations as the emerging configuration of a historical bloc
	9.4 A contribution to the theory of institutional change
	9.5 The revision of the concept of agency
	References
Index