Alcide De Gasperi's political life spanned the first half of the twentieth century. It went from his education in a small local environment, but within the multinational setting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to his period of enforced, yet intellectually very productive, public silence during the period of Fascist Italy, and then to his period in the limelight during the years of postwar reconstruction, the re-establishment of democracy and the construction of European unity. A group of scholars has documented the evolution of an outstanding leader by publishing a critical edition of De Gasperi's Scritti e discorsi politici, a collection of writings and speeches from the outset of his career until the end of his life. This article illustrates the research that has been carried out so far; the criteria behind the collection and editing of sources on De Gasperi; and the chronological periods and thematic issues around which the whole body of De Gasperi's political writings have been collated.

This article reviews one of the many leitmotifs that have linked Alcide De Gasperi to Trentino. It will focus attention on De Gasperi's experience as the Catholic representative of a national minority within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In that period, he was challenged on a daily basis by the difficulties of the relationship between the minority and the majority and the nation-state, and the importance of enforcing the laws that could guarantee the very existence of minorities. The same themes also recurred after the annexation of the Trentino region to the Kingdom of Italy, when De Gasperi continued to defend local institutions and associations against the centralist homogenisation imposed by the Rome government. In the phase of Liberation and the birth of the Republic, De Gasperi took on a leading political position, at both the Italian and European levels. In managing the border with Austria and resolving the Trentino Alto Adige/South Tyrol question, there are echoes of a Hapsburg approach to the region–State relationship, where minorities could coexist within the same State framework provided they subscribed to a pact of collaboration and trust under the constitution.

This article deals with Alcide De Gasperi's political development, from his militancy in the Trentino Catholic movement under the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the advent of the Fascist regime. The analysis of his political writings and speeches (1909–1926) allows us to identify some fundamental issues in the development of someone whom we can call a ‘professional politician’. He was a municipal councillor and Member of Parliament in the Austro-Hungarian Empire; after the annexation of Trentino to Italy he was elected to the national Parliament (1921), appointed President of the parliamentary group and then Secretary (leader) of the Italian Popular Party. There he dealt with issues relating to local government, the battle for the autonomy of the new provinces inside the Italian State, the analysis of international relations in the context of the post-First World War period, and relations between the parties during the crisis of the liberal State. The wealth of his journalistic output and his political activity offer a valuable standpoint for reflecting on the continuity and the disruptions of a historical period of which he was a protagonist, an interpreter and a witness.

Historiography has mainly focused on the pragmatic and realist character of Alcide De Gasperi's politics, whilst substantially overlooking the purely intellectual dimension of his lengthy political experience. The publication of a critical edition of his writings allows us to enrich the traditional image that has been developed of this Italian politician, whose interventions in public life were also expressed by way of significant cultural reflections. In this respect his writings from the 1930s, written during his so-called ‘internal exile’ inside the Vatican, are particularly significant. These pages bear witness to De Gasperi's close attachment to the political culture of European Catholicism. His passionate defence of Catholic constitutionalism and Catholic-Liberal goals, the revival of the political traditions of the Zentrum and the development of the Church's social doctrine in a corporativist direction testify to De Gasperi's often underestimated analytical capacity and intellectual breadth.

Starting with a quick overview of the historiography of Italy from Fascism to the Republic, this article looks at Alcide De Gasperi's establishment as a leader within both the Italian political system and within his Party–the Christian Democrats–casting new light on three aspects of his political activity: (1) his relationship with the Church and the Catholics’ new modes of participation in political life; (2) the reasons inspiring the definition of the Republican State's institutional architecture; and (3) alliance strategy in government formation and in relationships with the other parties. The originality of De Gasperi's political activity can be defined in terms of these issues, together with the development of a distinctive political leadership, for too long overlooked, that would play a critical role in carrying Italy through its postwar reconstruction.

Following the political stabilisation achieved with the victory at the election in 1948 of the Christian Democrat Party, De Gasperi's leadership had to deal with new domestic and international dynamics. The government dialogue with the ‘laical’ parties did not end with the reconstruction of the identity of a nation divided by the Fascist phenomenon, nor did it solidify along the lines of an ideologically driven anti-Communist design. De Gasperi's leadership was interwoven with profound changes in the role of the Church, the economic system and political organisation, founded upon new party and government systems. The national and European dimensions influenced one another in this conjuncture, resulting in a new set of equilibria: in the stability of the executive, within the limits set by the primacy of the parliamentary institutions and the organisational role of the party as a focus for political support; in economics, with a revision of classical economic liberalism; and in a unique synthesis of the secular tradition with social Catholicism, with a new interpretation of the 1948 Constitutional model.

This article reviews De Gasperi's foreign policy in the light of his recently published writings and speeches. Research has been carried out into the stages of his youth and his internal exile, seeking elements of continuity that would re-emerge later on in De Gasperi's policies as Foreign Minister, and his Atlantic and European policies. The key moments of De Gasperi's international political action, in particular the talks he took part in concerning the Italian Peace Treaty, membership of the Atlantic Pact and promotion of European integration, help to cast light on the characteristics of De Gasperi's political style. Above all, three elements are emphasised: responsibility, loyalty, and a capacity for renewal.

The results of the 2008 Italian general election were welcomed by many as the ‘sunrise of the Third Republic’, heralding a new political system which would emerge from a comprehensive constitutional reform agreed between the main parties of government and opposition. The party system now looks significantly different from that (or those) of the ‘Second Republic’. In particular, the disappearance of the radical left from Parliament and a clear reduction in the number of parties are the main factors underpinning optimistic predictions about a possible compromise on constitutional reform. Drawing on Sartori's classic work as well as on more recent conceptualisations of party systems, this article analyses the evolution of the Italian party system over the medium and long term. It is cautious, if not pessimistic, about the prospects for reform. High levels of polarisation, stemming from different conceptions of democracy maintained by the two main parties, can be expected to hinder bipartisan reform. In particular, the figure of Berlusconi appears to represent both the cornerstone of the ‘reconstructed’ party system and the main obstacle to a widely agreed re-drafting of the Constitution.