Abstract

In tracing the birth and evolution of Italy’s republican institutions, one must consider the broader developments of the 20th century’s «Thirty Years War» and the influence that communism/anti-communism polarisation played in the country’s political life. This work traces the main stages of Italy’s political, social and economic «stabilisation», analysing the successive phases of De Gasperi centrism, opening to the left and the organic centre-left. The domestic and international dimensions are viewed in constant relation.