Immigration control in Italian political elite debates: Changing policy frames in Italy, 1980s–2000s

Abstract

This work provides an analysis of the structure and transformations of the official political debate over immigration control within the Italian political elite over the last three decades. Through a close historical reading of the Italian political scene based primarily on parliamentary debates, this article charts the key policy frames articulated in different periods of Italian immigration history in relation to the nature of the immigration control problem (cognitive dimension) and the suggested policy solutions (normative dimension). Moreover, it highlights the various factors – from party competition and political ideologies to the pressure of interest groups, the characteristics of national political institutions and the normative pressure from Europe and European institutions – that have influenced immigration policy frames and have interacted with them in shaping policy goals.

Immigration attitudes among Western and Eastern European MPs: social identity, economic aspects and political ideology

“…Our findings of relative importance of cultural versus economic aspects related to MP’s immigration attitudes contributes to better understanding of the key roles they play as national decision-makers in immigration policy. Speaking to the literature on the origin of immigration attitudes at the elite-level (Dancygier and Margalit 2020 ; Helbling 2017 ; Magnani 2012 ), we show that cultural and symbolic compared to economic considerations play a more important role in formation of immigration attitudes. Previously, this pattern was confirmed for political parties, but less was known about the origin of immigration attitudes among individual representatives.…”

“…Different considerations MPs take in the account when thinking about immigration might affect the agenda of political competition or intensify polarization where it was previously low or moderate. Also, the way MPs see immigration may influence citizens’ opinion, thus forming and/or strengthening political representation (Magnani 2012 ).…”

Moderators of linear and nonlinear associations between religiosity, xenophobia, and tolerance toward immigrants in italy.

“…Others underlined that moderately religious people tend to conform to the dominant culture (Gorsuch & Aleshire, 1974; Lenski et al, 1963). Based on these points of view, we could conclude that moderately religious individuals in Italy are less likely to benefit from experiencing intergroup contact because they might be biased by feelings of perceived threat and social insecurity that are normative and widespread in the Italian public debate on immigration (Allievi, 2013; Magnani, 2012). On the contrary, non- and highly religious people benefit more from intergroup contact because of their readiness to critically assess the dominant culture in light of their own personal experiences, such as intergroup contact.…”

The politics of immigration during an economic crisis: analysing political debate on immigration in Southern Europe

“…By shaping and situating arguments in this way, political actors can seek to facilitate the comprehension and acceptance of their own view. These legitimate and accepted existent discourses have been defined in the literature as discursive or cultural opportunity structures (Cinalli and Giugni 2011;Magnani 2012). On the other hand, the content of political debate is also shaped by the contextual opportunities that political actors have to present their views.…”