ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the processes according to which such a turn in the common understanding of the phenomenon has translated into the state's reaction to the foreign presence vis-a-vis the issues of labour and citizenship. The chapter provides an account of the transition from a generic disposition to welcome the newcomers to an institutionalised and often bipartisan emphasis upon exclusion. Taking into account the economic and social changes that have occurred in the last three decades, as well as the political discourse on immi-gration, It analyses the Italian legislation, the institutions and political actors responsible for the various laws (Turco-Napolitano law, Bossi-Fini law), and the more restric-tive policies put forward by parties such as the Northern League, as part of what will be defined as 'simulative type of politics. The chapter assesses the influence of the interpretations of national identity and immigration put forward by the Catholic Church and the League upon the policies introduced and implemented by the various governments.
