DEMOPE - DEMOcracy under PressurE

Local Unit Coordinator, University of Bologna: Luca Pinto

DEMOPE (DEMOcracy under PressurE) aims to systematically assess the impact of crises on democracy and democratic institutions, investigating how crises affect everyday politics (both from a strategic and a communication perspective), the decision-making processes and their outputs. In view of that, DEMOPE will investigate whether crises lead to change and, if so, how do they change politics, trying to disentangle short term and long term effects and to evaluate whether crises produce stable changes or, conversely, politics returns to its routine equilibrium in the long run. Adopting a multi-disciplinary, multi-method and multi-actor perspective, four substantive Work Packages (one per each group of actors) will evaluate the impact of crises on: Government, Bureaucracy, Experts (WP1); Parliaments, Parties, Leaders (WP2); Multilevel Networks, such as international organizations, the European Union (EU) and national/local governments (WP3); Media and Society, including social movements, interest groups and citizens (WP4). Given that different typologies of emergency (defined by the level of threat, uncertainty, and urgency associated with each event) can wield different effects on the political system, DEMOPE will compare the main crises that Italy and EU countries faced over the last two decades, spanning from the economic and financial crisis, to the migrant crisis, the climate change issue, the COVID-19 pandemic and wars.

Website: http://demope.it/

Members of the Department

 Luca Pinto

Paride Carrara

Daniela Giannetti

Elena Irrera

Paolo Gambacciani

Other members

Publications

• Pinto, Luca, Anti-defection rules and party switching in the Italian Parliament, «PARTY POLITICS», 2023, OnlineFirst, pp. 1 - 14 [article].
• Luca Pinto, Party system change between elections: Evidence from the 18th Italian legislature, «ITALIAN POLITICAL SCIENCE», 2022, 17, pp. 16 - 33 [article].
• Francesco Bromo, Paolo Gambacciani, Marco Improta, Governments and parliaments in a state of emergency: What can we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic?, «THE JOURNAL OF LEGISLATIVE STUDIES», 2024, Early view, pp. 1 - 29 [article].
• Gambacciani Paolo; Bromo Francesco; Improta Marco, Term limits in parliament and electoral disconnection: the case of the Five Star Movement, «EUROPEAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW», 2024, Early view, pp. 1 - 21 [article].
• Francesco Bromo, Paolo Gambacciani, Marco Improta, Executive Power and Accountability in Italy and the Government’s Response to Covid-19, «INTERDISCIPLINARY POLITICAL STUDIES», 2023, 9, Article number: 3, pp. 43 - 64 [article].
• Gambacciani, Paolo; Pedrazzani, Andrea; Pinto, Luca, Waving the same flag? Government legislation and obstructionism during the COVID-19 crisis in Italy, «RIVISTA ITALIANA DI SCIENZA POLITICA», 2025, Early view, pp. 1 - 15 [article].
• Curini, Luigi; Pinto, Luca, Spatial contagion and party competition on environmental issue salience, «ELECTORAL STUDIES», 2025, 93, pp. 1 - 11 [articolo].
• Irrera, E. (2022), The Role of Friendship and Equality in Aristotle's treatment of Democratic politeiai, in Federica Pezzoli ed Elisabetta Poddighe (a cura di), Araucaria Monographic Issue on Politeia 24(49), pp. 373-392.
• Irrera, E. (2023), Comunità in Giuseppe Sciara e Pietro Polito (a cura di), Quale politica dopo il virus? Concetti Politici Rivisitati alla luce della pandemia, "Frammenti di politica", Torino, Ananke Lab editore, pp. 33-44.
• Irrera, E. (2024), Voce “Genere”, in M. Severini (a cura di). Ventuno Parole. Lemmario di storia e vita femminile nella contemporaneità, Acquaviva Picena (AP): Millesettecentonovantasette edizioni, pp. 41-44 [dictionary entry].
• Gambacciani, P., Giannetti, D., Pedrazzani, P., Pinto, L. (2025), Italy’s right turn. A spatial analysis of party competition in the 2022 Italian national election, South European Society and Politics, Forthcoming [article].

Conferences, lectures and talks

• Italian Political Science Association (SISP) – Annual Conference, 12-14 September 2024, University of Trieste, Trieste. Panel: Institutions and political actors faced with the (poly)crisis; Panel: Illiberal Democracy, Far-Right Mainstreaming, and the Challenges to Contemporary Politics in Europe; Panel: Analyzing Parliaments in Turbulent Times.
• Workshop: A un anno dall’inizio della legislatura: governo e parlamento alla prova dei (nuovi) numeri, University of Trieste, Trieste, 19-20 December 2023.
• Italian Society of Political Science (SISP), Annual Conference, 14-16 September 2023, University of Genova, Genova. Panel: Government, parties and legislators after the 2022 general election.
• ECPR General Conference, 4-8 September 2023, Prague, Charles University. Panel: talian politics after the 2022 general election: Government, parties and legislators in a reformed parliament.
• Italian Political Science Association (SISP) – Annual Conference, 8-10 September 2022, Sapienza University, Rome. Panel: Parliaments in difficult times.
• 10 November 2022, Boston (USA). 53th Meeting of the Northeastern Political Science Association: “Habermas and the many challenges of Solidarity in the European Union. An impracticable path?”
• 9-10 May 2023, Università di Bologna: Le sfide della democrazia in America Latina: Frammentazione Politica e instabilità economica.
• 25-26 May 2023, Madrid, University Carlos III of Madrid, XXIInd Anual Meeting of the Collegium Politicum: The Book of Political Science: Structure, Hierarchy and Recipient: “Aristotle’s τὰ πολιτικά as a πολιτική τις μέθοδος. An Exploration of Some of its Normative and Metaethical Components”.
• 13-14 May 2024, University of Sassari. Annual Meeting of the Collegium Politicum (“Ancient Critiques of Democracy and their Contemporary Relevance”). “Aristotle’s Defense of Athenian Ostracism and Equal Epistemic Power: A Criticism of Democracy?”.
• 1-8 August 2024, Rome; World Congress of Philosophy, Università la Sapienza: Love of Beauty in Aristotle's Philosophy: a Moral Motive for Virtuous Politicians. Elena Irrera.
• 9th dec. 2024. Workshop (organizer and discussant), Forlì, University of Bologna,. “The Challenges of Liberal Democracy: Equality, Inclusion, and Civic Disobedience”. Invited speakers: Prof. Elvio Baccarini (University of Rijeka), “Democratic Equality and Inclusion of Persons with severe cognitive disabilities”. Prof. Federico Zuolo (University of Genova), “Presentation of the Book: Disobbedire. Se, come, quando”.