The goals of the book are to reconstruct contrasting narratives about immigration and national identity; to name the conflicts, alliances, and interests affecting the national identity national immigration debate; to determine their impact on the development of Italian immigration and citizenship legislation; and to explore whether there is such a thing as a uniquely Italian solution - based on Italian history and imbued with Italian values - to the immigration debate. Garau asserts that intolerance is normal in Italian politics and state policies. Her book provides a great overview of theory that graduate students will appreciate. --R. A. Harper, York College CHOICE
1. Introduction 2. Italian intellectuals and the ‘death of the homeland’. Antagonistic identities in Italy since 1945 3. ‘Nobody is a foreigner within the Church’. Selective solidarity as a criterion to grant citizenship 4. ‘Masters in our own land’: the Northern League’s rhetoric on identity and otherness 5. Citizens of the world: a seemingly proletarian approach to immigration 6. Lampedusa: the promised land or a gateway to Europe?
Eva Garau is a Research Fellow in Contemporary History at the University of Cagliari, Italy.