Focussing on his term as Prime Minister from 2001-06, this scholarly volume provides the first assessment of how the neo-conservative values attributed to Berlusconi were contested and resisted by a variety of groups. The continuing influence of the controversial figure of Silvio Berlusconi on contemporary Italian life, culture and politics is beyond question. Focussing on his term as Prime Minister, this volume assesses how the neo-conservative values attributed to Berlusconi were contested and resisted by social/minority movements, intellectuals (radical and moderate) and media practitioners. Edited by members of the Centre for European Languages and Cultures at the University of Birmingham, and bringing together academics in Britain, Ireland, the US and Italy, it has an international perspective. Analysis investigates how resistance to the new conservative culture has been articulated, and how this has been expressed and explained by those involved. This interdisciplinary volume is divided into three (overlapping) areas: contemporary Italian politics (including the evolution of left and right, unions vs government; the G8 in Genoa and the anti-war movement); cultural texts (including films and documentaries, television programmes, novels and theatre; and experiences (the voices and practices of those who have opposed neo-conservative values from within the cultural industries and identity movements). Wide-ranging, innovative and challenging, this volume should appeal to all those who have an interest in Italy, in politics, in culture and cultural studies.

Edited by members of the Department of Italian Studies at the University of Birmingham, and bringing together academics in Britain, Ireland, the US and Italy, this volume takes an international perspective on Italian events. It investigates how resistance to the new conservative culture has been articulated, and how this has been expressed and explained by those involved. The volume is divided into four areas: 1. The Economic and Media Landscapes, which sets the scene for the rest of the book by explaining how Italian society, and particularly its media environment, have developed in recent years; 2. Political Challenges, which discusses the main threats to the authority and policies of Berlusconi coming from within his own centre-right coalition, the left and social movements; 3. Texts, which analyses films, internet sites, television programmes, novels, newspaper articles and theatre performances that sought to resist increasingly dominant conservative norms and/or respond to events set in motion by the Berlusconi governments; 4.Experiences, covering the voices and practices of those who have opposed Berlusconi from within the cultural industries and identity movements, such as journalists, LGBT activists, feminists and associations representing immigrant communities. Wide-ranging, innovative and challenging, this volume should appeal to all those who have an interest in Italy, political-, media- and cultural studies.