Explaining Italian “exceptionalism” and its end: Minimum income from neglect to hyper-politicization

Traditionally at the margins of the political debate, minimum income protection has recently become a key issue in Italian politics. After decades of social and political “neglect” letting Italy the only European country (with Greece) still lacking an anti-poverty minimum income safety net in the 2010s, finally a national programme called Inclusion Income was introduced in 2018, then replaced by a more robustly financed scheme, the Citizenship Income in 2019. The introduction of these new programmes was the object of an intense political debate, which raises two main puzzles. Why a policy field characterized by the low political resources of would be beneficiaries and low incidence on the overall welfare budget has become so important in the political debate? How did it occur in Italy, where minimum income protection had been absent in political discourses for at least five decades after World War II? To answer these questions, this article first elaborates a novel theoretical framework which combines the main properties of socio-political demand and political supply in order to explain the scope and direction of minimum income reforms. Second, it provides an analytically oriented reconstruction of MIS policy trajectory in Italy in the three different phases: the phase of MIS “neglect” (1948–1992) characterized by inertia; the period of political “contentiousness” (1993–2012), marked by attempts of path departure followed by policy reversals; the more recent phase leading to the introduction and institutionalization of a MIS. Third, the article provides a theoretically framed interpretation of the overall MIS trajectory in Italy.     

Hardly Silent: Exploring Civic Engagement and Participation among a Panel of Adults Ages 85+

ABSTRACT

The past twenty years have seen a surge of resources for and public attention devoted to civic participation opportunities for older adults in the United States. At the same time, technology has transformed the way information related to political and social issues is spread and shared. As more older adults migrate to using a wider range of communication tools and the internet, technology-mediated forms of engagement represent a new way for the oldest old to participate in society. In this study, a panel of adults ages 85 and older was surveyed to understand their experiences engaging with political and social issues. Responses to a questionnaire (N = 24) and focus groups (n = 22) indicate the oldest old are interested in social and political issues, and there are opportunities for technology to facilitate the oldest olds’ civic and political action. This study identifies roles social workers may play in helping the oldest old engage with social and political issues in their communities.     

Microinsurance: A short history

Twenty years ago, the International Social Security Review published an article that introduced a new term to the vocabulary of development and social protection: Microinsurance. Now, twenty years later, it is suitable to take stock of the contribution of microinsurance towards promoting coverage and social security. The article reviews the main insights gained from 20 years of implementation, including a clear expression of the value proposition of health microinsurance, understanding the demand for microinsurance, the business process for successful implementation, and conditions that must be satisfied for scaling and sustainable operations. It also explains the context that led to a considerable divergence in the microinsurance space. The article offers a discussion of unresolved issues and thoughts about the future of microinsurance. The conclusion of this article is that microinsurance can flourish when the necessary four pillars for its implementation exist, namely mainstreaming through political support, enhanced insurance literacy of the customers, technical assistance to self‐administer the schemes, and availability of seed capital. The sufficient additional condition is that customers perceive microinsurance as offering welfare gains that cannot be obtained by other means.     

Causation and Behavior: The Necessity and Benefits of Incorporating Evolutionary Thinking into Political Science

Political science now recognizes that both biological and social factors are significant to the expression of political phenomena. While necessary, this development has significant theoretical and methodological consequences. The recognition of biological and social factors complicates, rather than simplifies, the study of political phenomena by requiring a more complex model of behavioral causation.Objective.To adapt to this complexity, political science must familiarize itself with the study of behavior in the life and evolutionary sciences and adopt a consilient behavioral model. Method.To assist with this development, this article familiarizes political scientists with the principles on causation as they relate to behavior. It also reviews the most common approaches to studying behavioral causation in the evolutionary sciences. Conclusion.The article discusses the practical benefits of incorporating evolutionary thinking into the study of politics, including the importance of evolutionary thinking for problems of omitted variable bias.     

Community Empowerment and Democracy in Zimbabwe: A Case Study from Binga District

The development of an “informed and alert electorate” is essential for the establishment of democratic governance in Africa and for the continent's future economic growth. This need is particularly evident in Zimbabwe, which is currently in the midst of an acute political and economic crisis. This paper tells the story of a small community‐based organization in a remote part of Zimbabwe, which helped to raise political awareness and consciousness among a dis‐advantaged rural population. Because of the threat that it posed to the Mugabe government, the organization was forced to close in October 2002. However, its experience has important lessons for the future development of Zimbabwe—and of Africa as a whole.     

The Choice Revolution: Privatization of Swedish Welfare Services in the 1990s

During the 1990s, the Swedish welfare state was declared by some to be in a “crisis”, due to both financial strain and loss of political support. Others have argued that the spending cuts and reforms undertaken during this period did slow down the previous increase in social spending, but left the system basically intact. The main argument put forward in this article is that the Swedish welfare state has been and is still undergoing a transforming process whereby it risks losing one of its main characteristics, namely the belief in and institutional support for social egalitarianism. During the 1990s, the public welfare service sector opened up to competing private actors. As a result, the share of private provision grew, both within the health‐care and primary education systems as well as within social service provision. This resulted in a socially segregating dynamic, prompted by the introduction of “consumer choice”. As will be shown in the article, the gradual privatization and market‐orientation of the welfare services undermine previous Swedish notions of a “people's home”, where uniform, high‐quality services are provided by the state to all citizens, regardless of income, social background or cultural orientation.     

Experiments with truth. A sociological variation on William James's Varieties of Religious Experience

William James's Varieties of Religious Experience is a classic psycho‐philosophical study of the experience of the sacred and of its practical effects on the ordinary life of extraordinary persons. In a pragmatic variation of Kant's proof of god's existence, James uses personal accounts of converts to empirically demonstrate that there's “something” that has causal effects on the well‐being of the person. While the article is largely sympathetic to James explorations of the mystical, it offers a sociological variation on the Varieties that foregrounds the social, cultural and political aspects of religion.     

A Mile‐Wide Gap: The Evolution of Hispanic Political Emergence in the Deep South*

Objective. Prior to the 1990s, the size of the Hispanic population in the Deep South was negligible. Since that time, states in this region have experienced an explosive growth in members of this ethnic group. Methods. Georgia and the Carolinas are among five states that maintain registration and turnout files by ethnicity. We make use of these political data in conjunction with demographic information from the Census to create a snapshot of Hispanic political emergence in the southeast. Results. A sizable gap exists between the size of the Hispanic population in the southeast and levels of political participation on the part of Latinos. Much of the explanation for this observation centers on the fact that the bulk of recent migration to the region has been by Hispanics who are not U.S. citizens. Participation rates among Hispanic citizens, however, were also found to lag behind those of other racial groups in the region. Conclusions. Although it is likely that Hispanics will become a sizable political force in the Deep South, it should be noted that the gulf between latent political influence and actual political power may take quite some time to close.     

Dutch Women are Liberated, Migrant Women are a Problem: The Evolution of Policy Frames on Gender and Migration in the Netherlands, 1995–2005

Over the past decade, there has been a major shift in Dutch gender equality policy to an almost exclusive focus on migrant women. Simultaneously, the focus of ‘minority policies’ has shifted more and more towards gender relations. The appearance of migrant women at the top of the political agenda is remarkable. In this article we examine how this construction of migrant women as a political problem has come about, and consider its implications. As we argue, the dominant policy frames of emancipation and individual responsibility are reinforcing a dichotomy between the autochthonous ‘us’ and the allochthonous ‘them’. As the problem is increasingly defined as a cultural one, it is implicitly stated that there is no problem with the dominant culture and society. Barriers for participation are exclusively located in the migrant (Muslim) culture. In this view, Muslim migrants should first change their culture before they can fully integrate in Dutch society.     

Asian‐Pacific‐American Partisanship: Dynamics of Partisan and Nonpartisan Identities*

Objectives. This article seeks to understand the development of partisanship among Asian Americans since a significant portion do not choose either major party affiliation, but select an independent or a truly nonpartisan status. With a rapidly growing Asian‐American population, examining its pattern for both partisan and nonpartisan identification has been ignored. This research took a developmental process in which acquisition of any partisan affiliation/identification is a critical juncture for Asian‐American political incorporation. Therefore, considering contributing factors that affect the acquisition of any partisan affiliation as a precursor to specific Asian‐American partisan affiliation/behaviors is our direction. Methods. Using a logistical regression model and data from the Pilot National Asian American Political Survey, a category of variables, including sociodemographic, Asian‐American subgroup status, U.S. political orientations and attitudes, and experiences with U.S. society, are used to understand a partisan and nonpartisan affiliation. Results. This study reveals that aspects of socioeconomic status, political attitudes, and immigrant experiences are important, in varying degrees (especially Asian subgroup status) to understand partisan acquisition for Asian Americans. More so, Asian‐American subgroups, persons with lower educational and income levels, and participants in the labor force are less likely to assume a partisan affiliation. Levels of interest in U.S. politics and length of time in the United States do contribute to a partisan affiliation. Conclusions. Viewing partisan affiliation as a developmental process is an important research avenue to approach the Asian‐American community. The inclusion of not only sociodemographic variables, but experiences and evaluation of the U.S. political system, as well as recognizing the political “culture” of Asian‐American subgroups, provides a more complete understanding of the partisan acquisition process.     

Social and Family Policies in Italy: Not Totally Frozen but Far from Structural Reforms

This article analyses the main shifts in the political and public discourse about families, children, elderly people, care needs and women‐friendly policies in Italy over the last two decades. It shows that while family and gender relationships have become an ideologically highly charged public issue, policies at the practical level have remained largely stagnant, marginal and fragmentary. At the same time, important institutional changes (such as the constitutional reform of 2001, which introduced a form of federalism) have created new problems of governance. The authors argue that in the face of inadequate policies, the recourse of individuals and families to old (family solidarity) and new (migrant labour) solutions may cause new tensions and inequalities.     

Li as a Way to Order: The Intellectual Characteristics and Historical Role of Xun Zi’s Theory of Li

Abstract

To illustrate the overall content and historical significance of Xun Zi’s political philosophy, this paper proceeds as follows. First, it reviews previous research on ideas of li (ritual and social norms) and discusses why Xun Zi’s theory of li has been undervalued. Second, it briefly introduces my earlier study of this issue, The Confucian Quest for Order: The Origin and Formation of the Political Thought of Xun Zi. Third, it proposes an analytical framework that highlights the intellectual characteristics and historical role of li in the Xunzi. This framework analyzes li in the broad sense, differentiating between the theory of li, li as an institution and li as a way to the restoration of order. Fourth, it describes some intellectual characteristics of the Xunzi’s theory of li as a way to order. Based on these discussions, this paper argues that Xun Zi’s theory of li as a way to order is a political philosophy with a broad vision which goes beyond the framework of a single dynasty or state to cover the history and modes of existence of human society as a whole.     

Is “humane managed care” an oxymoron? (Essay Review)

Abstract

Though the impact of managed care on clinical social work practice and education has been widely acknowledged and critiqued, Humane Managed Care? edited by Schamess and Lightburn, represents a compendium of papers addressing all aspects of the recent phenomena and its impact on practitioners, educators, and most especially our clients. In reviewing this impressive and comprehensive volume, this paper addresses many of the most controversial and painful aspects of the “Managed Care Revolution,” including its impact on the level of clinical practice and its economic and political ramifications. It is suggested that the editors and some of the authors are less hopeful about the possibility of providing “humane” treatment in the managed care environment than they were only a few years earlier, as indicated by a comparison of this volume with the 1996 special edition of Smith College Studies in Social Work. This article also critiques some of the anthology's chapters, which suggest that the changes in health care delivery will ultimately be beneficial to clinical social workers.

Essay Review: Humane Managed Care? Gerald Schamess, M.S.S. & Anita Lightburn, Ph.D. (Eds.). (Washington, DC: NASW Press, 1998.)     

Governing Deviance in Public Space through Mayoral Orders: Fields Mismatch and Metropolitan Turbulence

This article addresses the issue of policy change and its consequences on the organizational field and institutional context, looking at the role of an instrument transfer process. We adopt a political sociology approach to policy instruments to account for the impact that the introduction of a securitarian instrument, the mayoral order, had on the implementation process of a social policy. Through a genealogy of the instrument we identify a constitutive, normative and cognitive dimension. Our aim is to explain the interaction between these institutional dimensions, the re‐definition of the organizational field of the policy, and the dynamics of metropolitan politics. Following a synthesis of the policy process and the institutional arrangements where the policy is implemented, we show how the instrument transfer triggered a division within the organizational field, and the rise of institutional tensions amongst local authorities. In the conclusion, we identify the institutional dimensions of the instruments and the policy implementation scale as elements that are to interact with public‐private relationships and institutional arrangements, and that have an impact on implementation process and policy outcome.     

Kids Voting and Political Knowledge: Narrowing Gaps,Informing Votes*

Objectives. Kids Voting USA is a program designed to educate schoolchildren about the democratic process and foster their political socialization. This article set out to explore the consequences of the Kids Voting program for political knowledge, knowledge gaps, and attitude‐behavior consistency. Methods. A sample of seventh and eighth graders in an urban school district were surveyed before (N=385) and shortly after (N=648) the 2000 general election. Results. Kids Voting exposure was positively related to political knowledge at Time 2 even after controlling for demographics, scholastic achievement, and attention to campaign news. There was no evidence that knowledge gaps widened between Time 1 and 2; in fact, African Americans and those with low initial knowledge gained the most. As political knowledge increased, party ID and issue attitudes became more predictive of candidate preference. Kids Voting exposure, too, was positively related to consistency between party ID and candidate preference, a relationship that was partially mediated by political knowledge. Conclusions. Political knowledge among these adolescents appeared to function much the way it does in adults: it equipped them to make political decisions that better reflected their attitudes. Kids Voting seems to contribute to this process, through knowledge and perhaps other avenues, without increasing knowledge gaps.     

Social investments in the knowledge economy: The politics of inclusive,stratified, and targeted reforms across the globe

As countries transition from industrial to post-industrial knowledge economies, education and skills are crucial. Consequently, policy-makers around the globe have increasingly focused on social investment, that is, policies aiming to create, mobilize, or preserve skills. Yet, countries around the globe have developed social investments to different degrees and in highly different forms. Our goal is twofold: First, we introduce a new typology of social investment policies, distinguishing nine types along two dimensions: three distributive profiles (inclusive, stratified, targeted) and three functions (skill creation, preservation, mobilization). This differentiation allows fine-grained analyses of the causes and consequences of different kinds of social investments, thus offering a perspective to study the relationship between efficiency and inclusiveness in a way that goes beyond the mere discussion how social investment policies grosso modo affect inequalities (‘equalizing’ versus ‘Matthew Effects’). Second, we theorize on the politics of social investment. We argue that the interaction of policy legacies and socioeconomic factors is the main explanation for which functions of social investment policies are introduced, whereas their distributive profiles are crucially shaped by political coalitions. We illustrate with empirical material from democracies around the globe.     

Between Decentralized Planning and Neo-liberalism: Challenges for the Survival of the Indigenous People of Kerala, India

This paper examines the experiences of decentralization under successive political regimes in Kerala in the context of neo‐liberal policies, with reference to the impact on the lives of adivasi (indigenous) communities. The Communist Party‐led government had been implementing a home‐grown programme of decentralized planning since 1996 until it lost power to the Congress Party‐led conservative coalition in 2001. In the context of the accelerated structural adjustment and liberalization of the national government, the new government amended its predecessor's programme with a reduced role for the state bureaucratic and political actors in mobilizing people for planning and implementing projects at the local level. Based on a comparative analysis, the authors argue that the new programme has so far not been successful as regards enabling marginalized groups such as the indigenous communities to resist exclusion and move out of their states of deprivation. The study also shows that the withdrawal of the state from the social and economic sectors has adversely affected these groups.     

Limousine Liberals and Corporate Conservatives: The Financial Constituencies of the Democratic and Republican Parties*

Objective. This study examines the backgrounds, political attitudes, issue preferences, and political participation of congressional donors who contribute $200 or more to congressional campaigns. Methods. We use a nationwide survey of more than 1,000 donors and analyze differences among these individuals using cluster analysis. Results. Although these significant donors are economic elites, we find they are not monolithic in their political views and attitudes. There are significant cleavages in the donor pool across and within the two major parties on various political issues and involvement in different political organizations. Perhaps most important, we find that the most active donors hold the most ideologically extreme political views. Conclusions. The results suggest that the sharp cross‐party differences and the meaningful variations within party coalitions, combined with the greater activity of more ideologically extreme donors, contribute to and reflect party polarization.     

Electoral Politics, Ideology and American Social Policy

This article addresses the politics of social policy in the context of the 2004 American presidential election. It examines the divisions in American society and their distinctive agendas. It also explores the record of the Bush administration on key social policy issues and shows how it relates to the broader conservative tradition as well as to the Clinton administration's reform of welfare. Finally, it examines the election results. The article argues that the Bush administration has a distinctive agenda on social policy issues and that its approach is likely to reduce further the role of the social government in the provision of social policy, by emphasizing market forces and philanthropy as well as cutting taxes. It also notes, however, that the Bush administration has taken a strong stance on traditional moral values and that its opposition to abortion and homosexuality is an important part of its political strategy.