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POLITICAL CULTURES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND ITALY.
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Compares the two countries, differences & things held in common.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Compares the two countries, differences & things held in common. Defines meaning of a political culture & its value in helpoing to determine the rules of the political system. Three main traditional characteristics of British political culture (Homegeneity, Consensus, Deference). Britian's change to a more multinational country. The politics of regionalism in Italy; diversity of the country's regions.
Paper Introduction:
THE POLITICAL CULTURES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND ITALY COMPARED
INTRODUCTION
Upon first examination, one would think there no two political cultures in the world more unalike than those of Great Britain -- the United Kingdom -- and Italy, that comparing the two is like comparing a Yorkshire Pudding with a Calabrian Pasta. It is true that Great Britain is the first modern nation-state, and was such when the King of France ruled little more than the Ile de France and was not as great as his nobles, when Italians were busy killing each other off in the internecine wars of small city-states, that Britain founded the first great western empire since that founded by the Romans and the Italians have only a bit more than 150 years as a unified state, and one that has never settled into unification easily. Yet there are more things in com
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Consensus: that there was general agreement on how politics werecarried on and how differences were settled; while unwritten but notunstated, there was general agreement about the procedures of politics,particularly that power was centered around the struggle to obtain amajority in Parliament. Despite the coming of democracy many of these attitudespersist (Roberts, 1995, 24). The Piedmontese andthe Lombards were different peoples with very different political-historical experiences, and so were the Tuscans, Emilians, Sicilians,Neapolitans etc. Rather than showing a deferential attitude to socialand political leadership, there is now a more pragmatic evaluation of theperformance of political and social leaders (Roberts, 1995, 31). (1993) Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Sincethe 196 s there has been an increase in groups using direct action to tryto achieve their aims; this has ranged from the striking miners of the198 s to the animal rights protesters of the 199 s. With the migration and population changes of the latter part of the2 th century, Britain is a much more "multinational" country than before,though for most being "British" does not conflict with their identificationwith the part of Britain from which they come. It is important todistinguish between regions as administrative entities, regional policy,including regional development, and regionalism vs. (1994) Contemporary British Politics.London: Macmillan. Italy began toindustrialize during the first decade of the 2 th century, and Italiangovernments attempted to bring regional help to the largely-agriculturalsouth to make up for the differences in development with the north. Decentralization is a widespread feature ofcontemporary politics in most EU member states. "Hereare the beginnings of constant themes in twentieth-century Italianpolitics: the distribution in the South of subsidies and patronage bycentral State development agencies, and the use of such agencies to winpolitical support" (Clark, 1983, 133). A scheme of regional devolution -- the Farini-Minghetti bill - wasprepared in 1861 and approved unanimously by the Cabinet; this waswithdrawn when it became clear anti-centralist forces, particularly inSouthern Italy, would jeopardize the newly unified kingdom. New York: Harper and Row. --- (June 26, 1993) "The Cost of Italian Regionalism; " The Economist,Vol. A political culture is the collective expressionof the political outlooks and values of the individuals who make upsociety" (Coxall, Robins, 1994, 54). (November 1997) "From Cultural Defence to PoliticalCulture: Media, Politics and Collective Identity in the European Union;"Media, Culture and Society. The mostpressing agenda for the Italian ruling class at the time was how toharmonize regional differences. The Italian Regional Question centers around the under- developmentof the South; both regional policy and regional development schemes havebeen dominated by the need to solve this basic division. 264, No. The Irishquestion has for long posed a challenge to the "unitedness" of the UnitedKingdom. The perceptions of the performance of local and regional governmenton the part of Italians vary sharply, accurately reflecting thisgeographical division: Northern and Central Italians are generallysatisfied with their local and regional governments whereas they expressdissatisfaction for the central government. "A political culture may be defined as the pattern of understandings,feelings and attitudes which dispose people towards behaving in aparticular way politically. Various studies have brought to light the consistently betterperformance of the Central and Northern regions vis-?-vis the Southernones. It consists of the opinions and beliefs thatshape political behavior. It was not until theend of the Second World War that administrative decentralization was onceagain seriously considered. References Chubb, J. 11, pp. (1993) Governing Italy: The Politics of Bargained Pluralism.Oxford: Clarendon Press. Rather, it was thedeterioration of political institutions, the growth of organized crime, andthe systematic use of corrupt practices in business transactions involvingparty and State officials. The reasons for this are varied and can been traced to differentlevels of economic development, uneven distribution of resources,historical traditions and, more recently, different degrees of activeparticipation in democratic and political associations, trust andsolidarity, community values and political equality (Putnam, 1993, 86-12 ). (1968) The Making of Italy. The New Labor victory on 1 May 1997 placed home rule for the twocountries firmly back on the British political agenda after almost twodecades, initiating a "democratic revolution." This Constitutional changeis truly fundamental, because it embodies the set of relationships thatproposes how a country is run, and therefore profoundly affects theinstitutional core of a society and how people live their everyday lives.Devolution means that Scotland and Wales will legislate in all major areasexcept those reserved to Westminster, principally, the constitution,national financial matters, foreign policy, defense, social security andcitizenship (Schlesinger, 1997, 385).SUMMARY The British political culture is a mixture of stability and change.In many ways, Britain is recognizably the same country as at the start ofthe 2 th century. Additionally, there was a strong sense of community whichtranscended cultural, national and political differences and a widespreadfeeling of common purpose which became prominent in times of nationalcrisis such as the Second World War. and Robins, L. Thus in place of the Farini-Minghetti billthe Government passed a Law in 1865 which introduced a rigid prefectorialsystem along Napoleonic lines, in which the prefect represented executivepower at the local and provincial level with wide-ranging authority overeducation, law and order, administration and justice. The major symbols of British national unity have traditionally beenthe Union Jack and the monarchy. Apart from minority ethnic groups, linguisticunification is now an accomplished reality. Paradoxically, the revival of federalist and regional/ethnicsentiments has taken place at a time when Italy has reached a high degreeof cultural homogeneity. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. However, in recent years this view has been challenged. 1, 291-3 5. D. For the past forty years, the effects of immigration from theCommonwealth, the rise of Scottish and Welsh nationalism and the violencein Northern Ireland have all placed strain on the political culture. By contrast, Molisecould spend 8 , Campania 64, Puglia 58, Calabria 84 and Basilicata 85. Census results indicate thatItalian is now prevailing, although the dialects have not disappeared. In recent years, respect for the institution of monarchy andespecially for the younger members of the Royal Family has declined, partlyas the result of intense media attention, though this appears to have fadedsomewhat following the death of Princess Diana, though there was at thetime of her death intense criticism of the behavior of the Royal Family,and in particular the Queen herself (Schlesinger, 1997, 387). Clark, M. One of the reasons for this was a generalagreement that Fascism's rise to power had been made easier by thecentralistic character of the Italian Liberal State. Deference has declinedas a more populist social culture has been affected by media disrespect forthose in authority. 24, pgs 12-14.----------------------- 1 (199 ) Patronage, Power and Poverty in Southern Italy.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The political culture helps determine the rules of the politicalsystem. Where the Britishmake light of such regional differences as mutually unintelligible dialectsall called English, Italy, on the other hand, has far more history asseparate people, speaking mutually-unintelligible dialects that areconsidered separate languages, rather than as components of a largercultural whole. The mood of the Italian people, meanwhile, appears to have turneddecisively in favor of the regions, if only in protest against themaladministration of central government.CONCLUSIONS Britain and Italy are dealing with similar problems, but from fardifferent vantage points. In Italy all three have played a part in shapingnational as well as local politics since Unification, although at differenttimes and with alternate fortunes. The British were generallyready to accept duly-constituted authority and to obey the law with aminimum of force or coercion, with little demand for a more activeparticipation in the decision-making process due to a belief that rulethrough parliamentary representatives was both right and proper, andgenerally produced the best possible results (Coxall, Robins, 1994, 58-64). Only 2.5 percent of the population knew and spoke Italianat the time of Unification, a figure that includes the Tuscans, upon whosedialect the national language was based. London: Causeway Press. Morethan forty years of regional policy and regional development have left thesouth at best modernized but certainly not developed (Economist, 1993, 14). The contrasting experiences of 'politicalgenerations' affect political attitudes in many ways: the sacrifices ofboth the Great Depression and the Second World War produced the politicallandslide which swept Labor into power in 1945, while a belief in freemarkets and the "enterprise culture" characterized the Thatcher era(Roberts, 1995, 39).CONTEMPORARY POLITICS Support for the political system remains high. Thus for every 1 Lirepaid to the State the Lombards received back for their own use 24.5, thePiedmontese 3 , the Venetians 35 and the Emilians 37. The performance of all regions has been disappointing in so faras they have become an integral part of the Italian political system andare in themselves entrenched in "partyocracy," and act as channels throughwhich regions and regional party leaders can bring pressures on the center(Hine, 1993, 271). It is true that Great Britain isthe first modern nation-state, and was such when the King of France ruledlittle more than the Ile de France and was not as great as his nobles, whenItalians were busy killing each other off in the internecine wars of smallcity-states, that Britain founded the first great western empire since thatfounded by the Romans and the Italians have only a bit more than 15 yearsas a unified state, and one that has never settled into unification easily. During all of that time ofthe Dark and Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and theNapoleonic period, Italy existed only as a geographic place name, uponwhich a number of city states waxed and waned in power over the centuries,creating a culture of regionalism that is strong in the nation to this day. A more balanceddivision of power would prevent an authoritarian solution occurring asecond time (Mack Smith, 1985, p. 1 , No. The"homogeneity" of the British has always been over-stressed. The British people, regardless of whether theycall themselves Scot, Welsh or English, have far more history as a unitedpeople than they do as separate nations, regardless of the Scottish andWelsh traditions of how English hegemony was imposed. Yet there are more things in common between these two cultures than onemight suppose at first.WHAT IS POLITICAL CULTURE? (Mack smith, 1968, 43) The diversity of Italy's regions, accompanied by growing resentmentin the country against "Piedmontization" convinced Cavour as well as manyother Italian political leaders that some measure of devolution ought to begranted. Mostpeople can speak both Italian and a dialect, and the percentage of peoplewho speak only or mainly Italian is constantly growing. (1995) British Politics in Focus. Attitudes to the monarchy have always beeninfluenced by social and economic characteristics. Today, despite the ever-present gap between North and South, it isthe very concept of regional development which is being put into question.This is partly due to the fact that the failure to develop the South in thepast decades has led many Northerners to doubt the wisdom of subsidizingthe South. 369-391. They were given by the State 33.9% of the fundsredistributed to local and regional governments. Government was originally the exclusive right ofthe king and a small group of courtiers who were chosen by and responsibleto the monarch. In contrast, Southern Italiansare dissatisfied with all tiers of government, which are generally judgedto be inefficient, ineffective and corrupt (Putnam, 1993, 54-56). Pateman, C., (1971) "Political Culture, Political Structure, andPolitical Change." British Journal of Political Science; Vol.1 , No. Coxall, B. Traditionally, deference has also been closely allied to secrecy inthe British political system, which reflects an historical process by whichgovernment was seen as a mystery, conducted out of the public gaze bythose specially chosen. (1993) Modern Italy 1871-1982. There is virtually nodemand for a fundamental change to the system and even less for the violentoverthrow of the government. Vol. The result wasthat the Italian Constitution, introduced on January 1, 1948, establishedthe regions as administrative entities with limited legislative powers in anumber of fields, including police, health services, town planning,tourism, local transport and communications, public works, agriculture andforestry. The two great political leaders of the ItalianRisorgimento, Cavour and Mazzini, were both anti-federalist, although theywere in favor of some measure of devolution of power. THE POLITICAL CULTURES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND ITALY COMPAREDINTRODUCTION Upon first examination, one would think there no two politicalcultures in the world more unalike than those of Great Britain -- theUnited Kingdom -- and Italy, that comparing the two is like comparing aYorkshire Pudding with a Calabrian Pasta. London and New York: Longman. For example, women andolder people have felt greater respect for the monarchy than have men andyounger people (Coxall, Robins, 1994, 7 ). British identity for somepeople is also threatened by the growth of the European Union; resistanceto further integration is based at least in part on fears for a British"identity" and a dislike of the idea of becoming more "European." This hada major effect on the election of 1997, which saw the New Labor Party -espousing greater openness to "Europeanization" - come to power for thefirst time since the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 (Schlesinger,1997, 383). At the time ofUnification, the Italian Government was faced with the dilemma ofadministrative centralization or decentralization. If "Europeanization" isby stages redefining the space of political communication in Britain, sotoo is the current internal reshaping of the state due to the devolution ofpower to Scotland and Wales. Generally, there was support for parliamentarydemocracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a market economy -- but withsubstantial state involvement (Pateman, 1971, 293). Parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchystill provide the setting for a basically capitalist economy, though therehave been major changes during this period with the institution of thepostwar welfare state and the Thatcherite reaction to that in the 198 s.Europeanization and Devolution will have major affects on this politicalculture in coming decades.ITALY - THE POLITICS OF REGIONALISM The greatest European empire, and the most centralized state everproduced in the west, came from Italy, in the form of the Roman Empire,which governed the Mediterranean World for nearly a thousand years, andwhich created a material culture that Europeans only began to equal in theadvanced cities of western Europe in the mid-19th Century, nearly amillennium and an half after the fall of Rome. There is general agreement that the political attitudes of eachsucceeding generation is shaped by the dominant ideas and institutions ofthe age into which it is born. The Italian regional question is threefold. Inparticular, the Socialist and Communist Parties, were suspicious of anyform of federalism out of fear it would promote reactionary politicaltendencies at the local level, which showed only limited appreciation ofthe innovative potential of a regional political system. Despite these common aspirations of the anti-fascist parties, therewas no clear convergence on the question of regional autonomy. In this, as in other instances, the Liberal Governments of Italygenuinely professed certain ideals but in practice had to introducesomething very different when faced with the reality of Italian society andpolitics (Mack Smith, 1968, 45). It deals with the nature of political leadership and authority, theright way to settle political arguments and the proper functions ofgovernment.BRITAIN - THE POLITICS OF CONTINUITY Traditionally, British political culture has three maincharacteristics: Homogeneity: that shared political values characterized Britishpolitical life. However, dissatisfaction with the workings ofBritish democracy has grown considerably in recent years and there aredemands for changes to the operation of the system. Schlesinger, P. In those days"Piedmontization," i.e., the hurried extension of Piedmontese legislationto the newly annexed Italian regions, was resented in the North as well asin the South, although perhaps not to the same degree. 263). Yet it was not linguistic nostalgia thatprovided the stimulus for the new federalism. A study promoted by the Regional Council of the Veneto Region showsthat between 1985 and 199 four Northern regions, Lombardy, Piedmont,Veneto and Emilia-Romagna paid 45% of national taxes, 62% of VAT, and 63.5%of local taxes. Deference: that there was generally acceptance of the right of anelite to rule, either of birth or of expertise. Mack Smith, D. The NorthernLeague -- a political movement based in Milan that advocates the splittingof Italy into separate northern and southern nations - strongly defends theuse of the dialect and has provocatively asked for the Lombard dialect tobe used as official language. Strictly speaking, one cannot speak of a federal political movementat the time of Unification. Roberts, D. federalism as apolitical movement. In the eyes of the League the "Southernization"of the Italian State, as shown by the emergence of a widespread corruptsystem of government is a clear sign that the process of nationalunification, far from promoting the homogenization of the country aroundNorthern laws, practices, institutions and economy, has succeeded only inimposing Southern deviant practices on the whole country (Chubb, 1993,142). Putnam, R. Hine, D.
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