References

Mosca, Lorenzo La webpolitica. Istruzioni, candidati, movimenti fra siti, blog e social network BookID 112747769 ISBN 8860876818 (see LibraryThing.com card)

Description (from Amazon)

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My review: 3.5/5

Albeit narrower in scope and shorter in length, "La webpolitica" can actually be used as an appendix and update to Putnam's book "Making democracy work : civic traditions in modern Italy" http://www.librarything.com/work/69269/book/11090719 - and any reader of the latter will certainly find echoes in this newer book, both in its methodology and its analysis of how regional politics and institutions coped with Web-based politics.

Interesting the section discussing funding and investment attraction across the country, and how organizational and technological change was coped with around Italy- useful also if your interest about Italy is only as a potential market.

Few days ago I reviewed "I nemici della rete" http://www.librarything.com/work/10756075/book/112746743- which is way too often relying on gossip-like analysis on "why" Italy is still falling behind its peers on reaping the benefits of the Net.

This book is instead a refreshing analysis providing both sources, first-hand information (extracts from interviews), and case studies analysis.

It has been published in 2013 (i.e. 3 years after the above mentioned book), but it contains an in-depth analysis of the Regional elections campaign of 2010 in Lazio (the region of Rome), analysis that complements and expands the gossip shared by the other book.

The author's approach to the subject of "web-based politics" can be summarized by the following excerpt (page 33):
"Sia le linee strategiche per l'e-government elaborate dal ministro Nicolais nel 2007 sia il piano eGov 2012 presentato dal ministro Brunetta nel 2009 non sembrano essere intervenuti su quello che pare essere oggi il maggior ostacolo alla effettiva realizzazione delle politiche di e-government nel nostro paese: il problema di ricomporre ad unità e dotare di una regia unica una pletora di ministeri, enti locali, società, aziende speciali e programmi speciali che si occupano di modernizzazione e digitalizzazione della pubblica amministrazione in Italia. In altri paesi europei come Franci, Spagna e Regno Unito il sistema dell'innovazione ha una direzione molto più chiara e lineare che ha evitato la frammentazione prodottasi in poco più di un decennio di politiche di e-government."

To summarize in English: it is the "balcanization" of governance of innovation in Italy (which stretches from the XIX century bureaucracy to electronic ID cards, not just the adoption of e-government), usually associated with the custom of using any new initiative as a political pork barrel courtesy of (present and future) taxpayers the real obstacle to modernization in Italy (which should be neither a complete transplant of foreign-born ideas to replace local culture, nor a mere Potemkin village built in front of the existing one).

This is a short book (it seems that most recent books about Italy that aren't talking about organized crime or terrorism that are published in Italy have to cope with a shorter attention span than similar books published abroad- including about Italy!).

The main appeal of this book? It is data-based, and shows how Italy is both more modern than (Italian and foreign) stereotypes would make you think, and still stuck in XIX-XX habits despite the "search of excellence" talks that you will hear around Italy or read on Italian media- and it could be useful to those interested in Italy, both for personal and business reasons.

If you read the review of the "I nemici della rete" that I posted on LibraryThing, you can have a look at the suggested readings that I added there.

As for this book, considering that it covers both formal/structured (i.e. political parties) and informal/alternative (e.g. the Italian M5S, Movimento Cinquestelle) organizational entities, few more suggested readings (along with, of course, Putnam- already referenced within the review of the other book):
1. Fracassi "Black bloc" http://www.librarything.com/work/12901868/book/88615908
2. CFR "The New Arab Revolt" http://www.librarything.com/work/11718226/book/82758659
3. Rose "The Clash of Ideas" http://www.librarything.com/work/12252483/book/82758625
4. Sun Tzu "The Art of War (translated by R. D. Sawyer)" http://www.librarything.com/work/70021/book/92683565

Yes, the proteic/swarm/"liquid" use of the Internet within political or advocacy activities is more Sun Tzu or "36 Stratagems" than traditional strategy: Go/Weiqi, more than Chess (also if sometimes it seems in Italy politics seems more Backgammon than Chess or Go/Weiqi, as somebody else said "un coup de dés jamais n'abolira le hasard"- and Backgammon is even more structured than Chess)

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