ABSTRACT
Contemporary Italian society is faced with conflicting tendencies. On the one hand, it is characterized by a strong European orientation and modern profile as an industrial force. On the other hand, inefficient governance, corruption, undocumented immigration and regional protest challenge this view and put Italian democracy to the test. The country is under constant pressure to keep pace with economic and social development in the EU while facing, together with the other member states, the prospect and process of incorporation of Central and Eastern European countries into the Union. These developments raise a number of social, political and economic issues, not least in relation to citizens' identification with the nation/Italy and/or the EU/Europe, as well as the representations of these entities in the media, political party and lay people discourse.
