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Politics by other means: an analysis of the discourses of Italian technocratic Prime Ministers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2023

Diego Giannone  and
Adriano Cozzolino Open the ORCID record for Adriano Cozzolino [Opens in a new window]
Diego Giannone*
Affiliation:
Political Sciences, Università della Campania ‘L. Vanvitelli’, Caserta, Italy
Adriano Cozzolino
Affiliation:
Political Sciences, Università della Campania ‘L. Vanvitelli’, Caserta, Italy
*
Corresponding author: Diego Giannone; Email: diego.giannone@unicampania.it
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Abstract

Technocracy is becoming increasingly relevant in Western democracies and particularly in Italy, a country characterised by four technocratic governments in three decades. Despite the growing number of dedicated studies, there is a persistent gap in the existing literature concerning the discursive dimension of technocracy – namely, how technocrats frame the historical context, legitimise their policy agendas and, more broadly, the establishment of their governments. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing the speeches given by four Italian technocratic Prime Ministers to the parliament when asking for the vote of confidence. Methodologically, we perform first the content analysis to map the themes addressed in the speeches, their quantitative relevance and variation over time. Then, we turn to critical discourse analysis to understand the specific argumentative strategies that legitimise policy action in five key and interrelated dimensions: context, legitimation, the state, European Union and political economy. The analysis seeks to answer three research questions: What are the main discursive strategies of legitimation used by technocrats? Do they change significantly between governments and over time? Do partisan policy options and worldviews emerge clearly, or do they remain under the surface? The paper aims to contribute to the theoretical conceptualisation and empirical analysis of technocracy by highlighting the subjective, performative and overall political dimensions of the phenomenon.

Keywords

critical discourse analysisItalian political systemtechnocratic governmenttransformation of the state
Type
Research Article
Information
Italian Political Science Review / Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , March 2024 , pp. 1 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Società Italiana di Scienza Politica

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