‘Old’ Versus ‘New’ in South European Party Politics: The Impact of a Decade of Crisis

Abstract

The economic turmoil in Southern Europe has provoked major changes to Southern European party systems. The main aim of the panel is to investigate both the profound changes that took place and what has stayed the same. The papers included in the panel will focus on different aspects of the 'Old' Versus 'New' aspects in Southern European party systems. Emphasis will be given to the analysis of the new political generation in Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal that was emerged as a consequence of the economic crisis and how the relationship between the young people in these countries and the political system is affected. Another aspect of the impact of the crisis that will be analyzed is the performance of the radical right in Italy, while we will also discuss the changing structure of competition in Italy after the elections of March 2018.