Democratic Backsliding in Italy: Not a Big Bang, but Steady and Insidious

This contribution examines Italy’s post–World War II democratic development through the lens of regionalism, constitutional design, and contemporary political dynamics. Although the 1948 Constitution and the 2001 constitutional reform established a bottom-up, regionally oriented legal framework, Italian politics has largely failed to implement this model in practice. A historically centralised and polarised party system has limited the effective engagement of regions, leaving them with few mechanisms to counteract central government policies. Recent attempts by some regions to oppose regressive measures of the Meloni Government—particularly in areas such as migration, reproductive rights, and LGBTQIA+ protections—have remained largely symbolic and constrained by weak institutional leverage and limited political will. While concerns about an overt neofascist turn may be overstated, the chapter identifies a pattern of populist governance marked by increasing centralisation, reduced pluralism, and the gradual erosion of democratic safeguards. Moreover, the proposed Premierato reform, if passed, signals a fundamental shift in Italy’s political system and an alteration of the balance of power, effectively transforming Italy from a parliamentary republic into a semi-presidential system.