Whatever Happened to Italy? The Crisis of the Italian Model of Development in the Era of Globalization

The paper aims to examine the set of economic, social / political and cultural factors that transformed the Italian model of development, between the 70s and the 90s of 20th century, from a success story to one of decline. This seem to lead the Italian society to a resigned acceptance of growing social and territorial inequalities, and the incipient revival of migrations towards more advanced or emerging countries. The theoretical perspective recognizes the systemic nature of these processes, starting from the changes occurred in economic activities, the division of labor and class and regional forces. But it is also highlighted the relative autonomy of the political sphere and the role of the political class in benefiting from these processes. Another main factor is the cultural dimension and in particular the role of religion and mass media in facilitating the Italian crisis. The approach presented in this paper aims to combine elements of the theory of social systems, historical materialism / regulation school / political economy and the theory of elites in order to show the interplay between the above mentioned factors and to achieve a better understanding of social change at the national level.