ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the contrarian premise that Italy’s strength may lie in the fact that it does not easily fit standard models of what a nation-state should be. It explains three themes: first, the political opportunities that a weak national identity presents; second, the fact that many crises are Italian iterations of long-term European trends; and third, an exploration of the synergy that exists between Italy’s political future and the crises that currently beset the European project. The chapter focuses on the Italian electoral pattern as it contrasts with cases that make historical sense. Remo Bodei recalibrates the terrain of post-war Italian politics, culture and society. Bodei deploys two concepts and one historical period that speak to the category of identity. First, Bodei’s discussion of ethos underscores the relation between identities and institutions; and second, contiguous categories, what Bodei describes as pointillism, focus attention on apparent connections between diverse events.
