Unpacking government instability. Cabinet duration, innovation, and termination events in Italy between 1948 and 2021

To cite the article:

Marco Improta, Unpacking government instability. Cabinet duration, innovation, and termination events in Italy between 1948 and 2021, in “Quaderni di scienza politica” 2/2022, pp. 151-180, doi: 10.48271/104790

The article, published on Quaderni di Scienza Politica, can be accessed here

Abstract

Government instability is widely recognised as a distinctive feature of the Italian political system. This topic has traditionally received considerable scholarly attention. In particular, an established body of research has demonstrated that Italian cabinets are among the most short-lived in Europe. This study aims to contribute to the study of this classic matter by exploring patterns of cabinet duration, innovation and termination in Italy in three different phases of the country’s democratic history. By using an original multilevel dataset comprising of information regarding 21 Western parliamentary democracies from 1945 to 2021, the article reveals the existence of different patterns of cabinet instability and ruling instability in Italy, highlighting the critical role played by inter- and intra-party conflicts vis-à-vis cabinet termination in all phases examined.

Marco Improta (Napoli, 1995) è postdoctoral researcher presso l'Università di Siena. Ha conseguito il dottorato di ricerca in Politics presso la LUISS Guido Carli. È stato Visiting Research Fellow presso il Department of Political Science della Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Visiting PhD presso il Department of Politics and International Relations della University of Oxford e Visiting Researcher presso il Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales del Ministerio de la Presidencia, Governo di Spagna, Madrid. I suoi principali interessi di ricerca riguardano i governi e la rappresentanza politica in prospettiva comparata. Ha pubblicato articoli su riviste scientifiche internazionali e nazionali, tra cui West European Politics, Political Studies, Parliamentary Affairs, Journal of Legislative Studies, Mediterranean Politics, European Politics and Society, Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche, Quaderni di Scienza Politica, Italian Political Science, Journal of Contemporary European Research, Italian Journal of Electoral Studies. È inoltre autore di contributi pubblicati in volumi. È membro del CISE, del CIRCaP e di varie associazioni scientifiche nazionali e internazionali tra cui IPSA, MPSA, CES, SISP, SISE, ISPSA ed ECPR.