04/2024 – Trasformazioni della politica e nuovi autoritarismi: la democrazia ibrida

Abstracts

Alessandro Campi, Between Democracy and Authoritarianism, a Third Path Exists: The Evolution of Contemporary Political Systems Toward Hybrid Institutional Models

In recent years, the focus of political science research has shifted from the study of democratization processes—which dominated the international academic agenda for an extended period—to the analysis of de-democratization dynamics. A notable development within democratic political systems has been the growing number of cases in which democratic-constitutional structures have undergone a marked regression. Globally, there has been a proliferation of formal or electoral democracies at the expense of substantive or genuine ones. Concurrently, so-called hybrid regimes are becoming increasingly prevalent—political systems in which democratic forms coexist with authoritarian content.

Keywords: Autocracy, Democracy, Political Science, Democratization

 

Fabio Fossati, Autocracy Promotion: Theoretical Framework and Comparative Analysis of Major Authoritarian Regimes

The models of autocracy promotion are four: a) Military intervention, through a war. b) Economic blackmail: by applying negative sanctions to pro-West democratizing regimes: trade or investments’ sanctions, and cuts to economic or military aid. c) Rewards: by positive sanctions to authoritarian or hybrid regimes, through diplomatic pressure, military and economic assistance. d) Emulation: an authoritarian state is a cultural, economic, political and military model for other non-democratic regimes, that autonomously follow the leader. A rigid autocracy promotion is based on the support of only authoritarian regimes, while in a flexible relation there is the possibility of a ‘B plan’, by promoting hybrid regimes too. Hard power relations are anchored to direct or indirect military interventions, while soft power is based on diplomatic and economic relations. The following cases have been compared: Venezuela, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Turkey and Russia.

Keywords: autocracy promotion, hybrid regimes, hard power, soft power, foreign policy

 

Sandro Ciurlia, Legal Language, Political-Institutional Structures and the Search for a “Universal Jurisprudence” in Leibniz’s Young Thought

The essay aims to define the terms of Leibniz’s reflection on the issues of the language of law and the logic of the legal practice. Focusing above all on the Nova Methodus Discendae Docendaeque Iurisprudentiae (1677), are analyzed the first rigorous definitions of the concept of law, with the consequent search for a legal language based on a univocal logical syntax capable of avoiding misunderstandings, for the purpose of prosecuting without obstacles the idea of «justice» in all its complex articulations. In this way, through an uninterrupted comparison with the auctoritates of the past, Leibniz codifies a first form of calculative language for the legal sciences of great originality and relevance for future studies on this topic. This is the preliminary step to defining the forms of political power and the institutional structures of the States.Keywords: Leibniz, Universal jurisprudence, Power, Pansophy,

 

Arianna Liuti, Luigi Einaudi in the Thought of Bruno Leoni and Norberto Bobbio: A ‘Scientist’ of Freedom

This essay aims to outline a portrait of Luigi Einaudi as it emerges from the accounts of Bruno Leoni and Norberto Bobbio—two of his most distinguished students at the Faculty of Law in Turin, as well as two of the foremost voices of twentieth-century Italian liberalism. Both thinkers engaged in deep reflection on the complex relationship between the “slave-economist”—as Einaudi described himself—and the statesman, and more broadly, on the interplay between economics and politics in their mentor’s thought and work. In the well-known controversy between Einaudi and Benedetto Croce, both Leoni and Bobbio side with Einaudi’s empiricist, Anglo-Saxon–inspired liberalism—one that necessarily includes economic freedom among the fundamental liberties—rather than with Croce’s historicist liberalism of Hegelian lineage.

Keywords: Norberto Bobbio, Luigi Einaudi, Norberto Bobbio, Liberalism, Democracy,

 

Stefano Bruno Galli, The ‘Clerk’ Who Did Not Betray: Václav Havel

In the short space of a few months, Václav Havel went from the prisons of the regime – where he had been locked up for his activity as a dissident – to the presidency of the Czech-Slovak Republic, where he was elected on 29 December 1989. Not even he, a playwright of the absurd, would have never thought of writing a script of this kind, much less thinking of himself with a leading role. Since the years of dissent, he has engaged in theoretical and political analyses, heterogeneous and disorganized, but nevertheless relevant. He was one of the great figures of the second half of the European twentieth century and theorized the category of post-totalitarianism.

Keywords: Václav Havel, Europe, Post-totalitarianism, Communism

 

Carlo Marsonet, Ethics, Christianity, and the Concept of Freedom in John Hallowell’s Political Thought

Among the great American twentieth-century authors whose reflections have dwelt much around the theme of freedom and liberalism John H. Hallowell (1913-1991) certainly assumes a prominent role. Regarded as one of the representatives of the American conservative revival of the mid-twentieth century, Hallowell actually delves deep into the defense of the authentic liberal tradition (integral liberalism) from its degeneration culminating in the «suicide» represented by totalitarian experiences. According to Hallowell, only by recovering a liberalism endowed with an ethical-spiritual structure is it possible to sustain a free society. A purely formal and relativistic liberalism is destined to lead to nihilism: from this comes anarchy, which politically, and as a consequence of this, manifests itself as tyranny

Keywords: John H. Hallowell, American conservative, Liberalism, Anarchy, Tyranny

 

Francesco Romano Fraioli, The Utopia of Cyberspace. Rise and Fall of a Myth

The notion of cyberspace is fundamental not only for understanding certain aspects of the digital revolution, but also all those narratives that, in a utopian way, have often celebrated it as the sole, great architect of change. The aim of this essay is therefore, after reconstructing the genealogy of the concept of cyberspace, to investigate the three most consolidated myths associated with the utopia of cyberspace: the death of matter, the end of geography and the end of history. To this end the focus will be on the thought of some of the most important techno-enthusiasts of the 1990s, that can be considered the ‘golden decade’ of the cyberspace utopia. In conclusion, an attempt will be made to briefly understand what remains of the original idea of cyberspace following the profound and problematic changes that occurred in the last phase of the digital revolution.

Keywords: cyberspace, utopia, digital revolution, democracy

 

Luca, Mencacci, American Elegy: A Study of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election

In the 2024 presidential election, the Republican Party achieved a decisive victory. The ticket composed of former President Donald Trump and his running mate, James D. Vance defeated Democratic opponents Kamala Harris, the incumbent vice president, and Tim Walz in both the popular and the electoral votes. This victory marks a personal statement by Donald Trump, who became the first President since Grover Cleveland in 1892 to be elected to two non-consecutive terms and has consistently increased the votes received by his party in all three elections for which he has been a candidate. The electoral campaign was characterized by moments such as the withdrawal of the incumbent President from the race and dramatic events such as the attempt on Trump’s life. Nevertheless, the outcome of the vote was clear. While the Democrats question themselves about the responsibility for the defeat, a new protagonist has appeared on the political scene, poised to inherit Trump’s political legacy.

Keywords: Presidential Election, Trump, JD Vance, Republican Party