December 05 to 04, 2012
08:30 am to 04:00 pm

"After Berlusconi: The Future of the Liberal Order; The Case of Italy"

1161 Amsterdam Ave
10027 New York, NY
United States

9:30am – 9:45am Welcoming Remarks: David Freedberg (Director, Italian Academy, Pierre Matisse Professor of History of Art, Columbia University); Stephen Szabo (Executive Director, The Transatlantic Academy) 9:45 am- 12:00 pm: The Berlusconi Legacy: How has Italy Changed and What Remains? Emiliano Alessandri: moderator (The German Marshall Fund of the US) Bill Emmot (Former Editor, "The Economist"; Author: “Good Italy, Bad Italy”); Alexander Stille (Columbia University) James Newell (University of Salford, UK); Gianfranco Pasquino (Transatlantic Academy, Johns Hopkins SAIS Bologna Center and the University of Bologna); Charles Sabel (Columbia University); Maurizio Molinari (US Correspondent for "La Stampa");
12:00 – 1:30 pm: Lunch Break
1:30 - 5:00 pm: Italy in a Comparative Perspective: Leaders, Institutions, the Media and Populism Richard Youngs: Moderator (Transatlantic Academy and "FRIDE") Nadia Urbinati (Columbia University); Paolo Mancini (University of Perugia); Karin Deutsch Karlekar (Project Director, Freedom of the Press, Freedom House); Gábor Halmai (Transatlantic Academy and Princeton University); Jan-Werner Müller (Princeton University) With his November, 2011, resignation as Italy’s Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi made a formal, if not entirely complete, exit after dominating Italian politics since 1994. One year on, can the style and culture he brought to government over the past 15 years be said to have exited with him? Berlusconi oversaw a period in which Italy’s democratic procedures, already historically weak, saw marked deterioration. The country’s internal polarization, populist politics, culture of clientelism, structural economic weaknesses and regional imbalances and manipulation of the media, were all exacerbated under the Prime Minister. In the post-Berlusconi era, how are Italy’s structural problems being addressed, and what major challenges remain? To what extent is the Italian experience limited to Italy, and to what degree is this one case in a larger complex of issues and trends being confronted by other western democracies? The Transatlantic Academy is based in Washington, D.C. and brings together scholars from North America and Europe to work collaboratively on a theme of importance to the transatlantic community. The theme this year is The Future of the Western Liberal Order. Founded in 1991 on the basis of an agreement between Columbia University and the Republic of Italy, the Italian Academy sponsors advanced research in all areas relating to Italian history, science and society; presents distinguished examples of Italian culture and art; and promotes academic, cultural and scientific exchange at the highest level.