Responsive and Responsible? The Role of Parties in Twenty-First Century Politics

This article focuses on a particular aspect dear to theories of democracy in general and theories of representation in particular: the tension between responsiveness and responsibility affecting political parties in modern, liberal democracies. In doing so, it engages with Peter Mair’s intellectual passion for this topic, which he developed over the years and intensively worked on until his premature death in 2011. He argued that this tension became ever more apparent, putting the very functioning and legitimacy of democratic government under great pressure. This contribution goes back in time, to the very beginning of the modern state, and argues that already the nascent parties and party systems were affected by the tension between responsiveness and responsibility. It then offers a synopsis, organised in a series of ‘pictures’ or ‘frames’ of the historical parcours along which this tension has impacted on the development of political parties. The article also presents and summarises the collective effort undertaken by a number of scholars, coming together to honour Peter Mair’s work, to shed further theoretical and empirical light on this fundamental tension.     

Arrhythmogenesis and diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis. An immunohistochemical study in a sudden cardiac death

We present an uncommon case of sudden cardiac death in a 34-year-old white woman. She was found lifeless at home by her parents. Three months before death she was recovered at the Emergency Room for chest pain, palpitation and loss of consciousness. Subsequent cardiological evaluation with ECG showed sinusal rhythm, QRS deviation to the left, QS aspect, asymmetric and rounded T waves and slight length of QT. During hospitalization she presented some episodes of supraventricular paroxysmal tachycardia and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. No echocardiography alterations were found. An anti-arrhythmic treatment was prescribed. Autopsy revealed some fibrotic scarring in the myocardium of left ventricle. The histological examination of the heart revealed diffuse and extensive fibrosis with non-caseating sarcoid granulomas. The lungs, kidneys and lymph node also showed the same non-caseating granulomas. The diagnosis of sarcoidosis with massive and extensive cardiac involvement was established as cause of death.     

Preventing Political Violence in Britain: An Evaluation of over Forty Years of Undercover Policing of Political Groups Involved in Protest

This article offers a first academic evaluation of the Special Demonstration Squad and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, two British undercover police units working for the Metropolitan Police Service at different times between 1968 and 2011. It provides a historical overview of their infiltration of political groups involved in protest for the purpose of gathering criminal and political intelligence aimed at preventing violence, public disorder, and subversion. It discusses the controversies surrounding these units, and the related institutional responses, and offers an attempt at understanding their operations within the remit of intelligence-led policing and against a political culture that prioritizes action over inaction in reducing risks and threats to the State and society.     

The Italian Welfare State in the Crisis: Learning to Adjust?

Abstract

After a decade of inertia, that left it unprepared to withstand the blow of the great recession, the Italian welfare state has witnessed significant changes since 2012. Externally driven consolidation in the wake of the sovereign debt crisis spurred yet another wave of social policy reforms after that of the 1990s. These reforms did not however invariably entail retrenchment. Both the Monti and the Renzi governments combined liberalisation with expansion of social rights, particularly in income support. As a result, the Italian welfare state looks more comprehensive than it was before the crisis. At the same time, there was no overall strategy of welfare modernisation based on coordinated social investment measures. The changes in Italian social policy since the outburst of the great recession highlight the importance of domestic politics interacting with external drivers of change. They also facilitate an assessment of the opportunity structures for further reforms in a political system that appears to be veering again towards consensus democracy.     

Intelligence gathering and the relationship between rulers and spies: some lessons from eminent and lesser-known classics

This paper aims to examine the relevance of intelligence gathering as an essential prerequisite for any political or military decision, and the resulting special relationship between rulers and spies, through a theoretical comparison between renowned classics and niche literature on strategy, literature, philosophy and political science belonging to several periods and historical contexts. Findings suggest that criticism on intelligence does not concern its utility, but rather the reliability of the sources, the obstacles presented by intelligence gathering and the ethics of spying. Spies are often described as ‘ramifications’ of the ruler, to whom they are tied by a special relationship of trust, rooted in a spirit of sacrifice, adequate remuneration and honours.     

Forensic Pathological Considerations of a Unique Case of “Complicated Suicide”*,†

In the forensic literature, peculiar and uncommon cases of suicides defined as “complicated” are reported. In these circumstances, the suicide method chosen by the victim fails, and death occurs due to a subsequent unforeseen accidental event defined as secondary trauma. Through retrospective examination of 25,512 autopsies in 27 years (1993–2019) at the Bureau of Legal Medicine of Milan, a unique case of complicated suicide was identified from a total of 4497 suicides. It concerns an elderly man who, after killing his wife by inflicting incised wounds to her neck, tried to hang himself by tying a rope to a heater and jumping from the window located over the heater itself. However, the rope suddenly snapped and the man fells to the ground causing fatal traumatic injuries. Death occurred because of an accidental event caused by the failure of the hanging mechanism. Therefore, a peculiar yet characteristic case of complicated suicide is described.