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Part 2 of this article continues its investigation into the relationships between Scots and Italy, as seen through books of friendship, by considering additional socioprofessional categories beyond the academic and military worlds. Among the political activists considered is David Graham of Fintry, a Marian and member of the Catholic party, whose album is studied in great depth. It is a key document for our further knowledge of his activities as a courier and intelligencer for Scottish Catholic interests in Europe and adds to the scholarly understanding of his political involvement in the Counter-Reformation. More broadly speaking, friendship albums shed light on Scottish activists' politico-religious networking processes and their connections with middle-ranking and regional intermediaries, at times in key locations or seats of power. As with the military officers studied in Part 1, it transpires from these contacts that there were lighter moments for artistic and cultural activities or edification. In correlation, the few ecclesiastical contributions studied in this paper cast light on a fluid matrix of information and networks and highlight their potential influences, both negative and positive. Indeed, there were risks involved in being in contact with dubious characters, whereas tapping into a rich circle of contacts with courtiers could present opportunities and patronage. For Scottish scientists, the genre of alba amicorum is particularly important, not so much to highlight their side activities as to lay the foundations for their subsequent careers and establish the potential links and backgrounds that underscore their subsequent scientific tasks, achievements, and modus operandi in their professional roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primacy of networks vs. identities divides research on activism. Analyzing activist commitment in CasaPound, a movement organization of the far right in contemporary Italy, this paper advances a sequential multipath theory of activist commitment. In the recruitment phase either networks or identities suffice for movement entry. During the follow-up phase of integration, networks and identities reinforce each other: each is a necessary but no longer a sufficient condition. In the final phase, commitment is solidified by affective ties and emotional investments. To make this argument, our theory introduces a typology that differentiates between coming home and finding home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the tumultuous period in Italy between 1968 and 1977, known as the 'long 68', myriad alternative publications focusing on the narratives and the experiences of avant-garde groups, marginal communities, labour organizers and political activist circles gained widespread popularity. Among these, two significant literary and political reviews, I Quindici and Contropiano , played a pivotal role in these movements. My paper aims to analyse the aesthetic and textual makeup of these publications by examining the significance of these journals in the context of the explosive political climate that led to the cycle of protests in streets, schools and factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between the 1920s and the 1950s, hundreds of thousands of Italians emigrated to Australia, with fewer restrictions placed upon them than other continental European migrants. However, Italian migrants, especially from southern Italy, were often seen as 'undesirable'. This was due to both their ethnicity and the view that Italians were attracted to extreme political ideologies, such as Fascism and communism. This combination led the Australian authorities to treat Italian migrants as a'suspect community', which meant prolonged surveillance of Italian communities, as well as efforts to prevent entry, deny citizenship to or deport certain undesirable individuals. The policing of Italians in Australia intensified in the Second World War, which resulted in many being interned, regardless of political affiliation. But at other times, the political persuasion of the Italian migrants did play apart in how they were viewed by the authorities, with communists being monitored more heavily in the 1920s and 1950s and fascists being the focus in the 1930s and 1940s. This article looks at the shifting undesirability to Italian political activists in Australia over four decades and how ethnicity alongside ideology informed their policing by the authorities across several periods of political upheaval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on interviews with activists and local government officials and on secondary data, this paper analyzes the development and effects of the Roman Right to Inhabit Movement (RIM) from its origins till 2014. The first section describes the origins and characteristics of the new housing question in Rome. The second presents a brief genealogy of the RIM, paying special attention to how it has framed the housing question. The third describes the activities of the RIM by focusing on its interplay with the city politics and administration and the resulting changes in the housing policy of the city of Rome. The fourth section analyzes the modes of state regulation and of political articulation of the housing question that these transformations have brought about. The final section argues that these emerging arrangements are a significant example of how new forms of social protection are being created by urban movements after the neoliberal erosion of the welfare mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to show that youth involvement in political groups is often driven by such multifaceted motivations that it is relegated to the border between engagement and leisure. Focussing on the European context, research about youth and politics often highlights that few young people are personally involved in political forms of action. In most studies, this involvement is interpreted as the actualisation of a set of values, through their translation into specific aims and means, on the basis of correspondent wider worldviews, that is, representations of society and human beings. Such an interpretative approach is challenged on the basis of the results of research conducted in Italy through qualitative interviews with young activists involved in political squats. Through an in-depth analysis of young activists' narratives, it is suggested that youth involvement in political groups often represents partly, or even mainly, a form of leisure connected with variegated sensitivities and tastes at least partially external to perspectives of political engagement, and conversely connected with personal satisfaction and fulfilment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In experiencing migration, some actors may take political action to contrast their own loneliness and to claim the belonging both to the host country and the country of origin. For the foreigners living in Italy, approaching to the social and political struggles of the community of origin can be a way to claim the belonging to a group, or to several groups. The objective of this contribution is to analyse the transnational networks of the political mobilisation at the time of globalization, the migration flows and the increasing use of online social networks. The Moroccan movement Hirak Rif was born in the region of Rif during October 2016 to advance social, political and economic demands. This work's aim is to examine the mobilisation of the Moroccans living in Italy, in particular of those from the Riffian region. They use Facebook as a tool of struggle, to fight the loneliness that they consider the end of the Hirak's strength. In this contribution, the role of the social networks as means of separation among individuals is questioned, supporting instead their unifying function. The social networks as political tools are essential to the existence of the Moroccan diaspora's political action. This comes clear both from the observation of the movement's action and from the interviews with the activists. Therefore, the assumption of the movement's loneliness and the methods used in order to oppose it, seem to be strategies to fight the loneliness of the activists themselves. This can be seen as a migrant's double loneliness, echoing the migrant's double absence of Sayad's analysis. The activists' actions put in place to support the Riffian movement would lead, on the one hand, to the strengthening of the links between the individuals and the group of origin; on the other hand, to the creation or to the consolidation of the group in the immigration country. The political action, made possible and easier thanks to the social networks, is used by the activists to create and legitimate both groups. In this way the double political belonging of the activists is built and strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asserting the need to acknowledge the role of the current crisis and austerity politics in fostering the re-emergence of squatting initiatives in Rome, this article brings together the literature on squatting as an urban social movement, notably Martínez López's holistic approach, with a political economy perspective analysing the current stage of 'late neoliberalism'. In so doing, I use the conceptualization of 'expulsions' developed by Sassen to show how emerging squatting initiatives in Rome represent the 'spaces of the expelled'. Focusing on the case of Communia in San Lorenzo neighbourhood, the article shows how Martínez López's approach is able to account for the rapid success and support enjoyed by Communia, going as it does beyond the 'single-issue' perspective that has dominated much of the squatting literature. Indeed, the main claims addressed by Communia activists concern a plurality of issues grouped around the concept of urban commons, as both a practice and a goal. Methodologically, the article is the result of 18 months of fieldwork based on an activist/participatory action research (PAR) approach, comprising participant observation/observant participation, in-depth interviews and questionnaires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the migration literature neglects the questions of why and how “native” alliesobstructactivism by immigrants and ethnic minorities. Left-wing organizations in particular are often assumed to be supportive of inclusion, and little research exists on the ways they have prevented the migrant population from having a voice in the political arena and from taking part in society as equals. Drawing on the critical theory literature, I introduce the concept ofpolitical racialization. This concept refers to mechanisms whereby political actors, in order to legitimize their work on immigration, have partially included immigrants in the political sphere, but in a relationship of “ethnic” or “racial” subordination. Through the analysis of 57 in-depth interviews with immigrant activists, I show how political racialization works within the Italian Left and how it contributes to marginalize the migrant population. I further explain how immigrant activists have challenged political racialization through their activism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Within the field of political psychology studies, the main goal of the present study is to investigate in depth the role played by two different forms - E-Tactics vs E-Movement - of social media activism on the quality of discourses and their possible level of acquired empowerment. Two Italian cases of e-minorities (Teatro Valle Occupato and Roars) will be analysed in terms of argumentative moves following a pragma-dialectic perspective in order to observe how they can construct a possible process of conscientization. Results, achieved by means of quanti-qualitative methods, highlight how E-Tactics (Teatro Valle Occupato), differently from E-Movement (Roars), can better promote normative but also creative forms of argumentations, as activists can claim for their rights but mainly also promote value change. This type of activism is strongly correlated to political participation, differently from E-Movement, mainly oriented to individual empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A substantial amount of literature has revealed gender gaps in political participation. However, little is known about such gaps when using more comprehensive measures of civic and political participation including online participation. In the present study, we recruited a sample (n = 1792) of young people living in Italy. Controlling for age, majority/minority status, socioeconomic status, respondents' educational attainment, and parents' educational attainment, we found that female participants reported higher scores on online and civic participation, while male participants were more likely to report political and activist participation. The effect size for these gender differences was small. In addition, we did not find any gender differences in voting behavior in the last European parliamentary elections, national parliamentary elections, and local elections. These findings highlight the need to move toward a more comprehensive and detailed picture of gender gaps in political engagement and participation including different types of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]