Italy in the Cold War: Politics, Culture and Society, 1948-1958

Many of Italy's current problems can be traced back to the years 1948-1958, one of the most interesting but least-studied periods of recent Italian history. This was a decade in which the main cultural and political parameters of contemporary Italy were laid down. It was a time of enormous intellectual and artistic vitality, and a period in which the tensions generated by the Cold War affected the country to a greater degree than in any other western nation.This first general survey of the period provides an overview of the political and economic position of Italy during the Cold War as well as an assessment of the affect of the Cold War on intellectual, cultural and artistic life.

Distinguished scholars from a range of disciplines present case-histories on subjects as diverse as: the state's attitude towards the evolution of the family; the American presence in the Italian economy; and the place of the Italian film in world cinema. Italy's attitude towards the EEC and its relationship with NATOStudents and specialists who wish to enhance their understanding of Italian current affairs will find this interdisciplinary approach to the period invaluable."an important addition to scholarship on Italian history, politics and social anthropology, as well as a contribution to our understanding of the Italian concept of regionalism from different perspectives. [....] From an anthropological point of view, this reader may represent a landmark for future case studies on the ways in which the ideologies of the autonomist movements are received and interpreted by the people involved." --Journal of Cambridge Anthropology"an interesting book which will be appreciated by political scientists and political sociologists in search of longitudinal perspectives, and by all readers who believe in interdisciplinary work." --South European Society and PoliticsChristopher Duggan Reader in Italian History and Director of the Centre for the Advanced Study of Italian, University of Reading Christopher Wagstaff Christopher Wagstaff, Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies, University of Reading