Linking Regional Responses to Citizens’ Perceptions: Analytical Framework and the Italian Context Before Covid-19

This chapter provides an outline of the book’s analytical framework, with a specific focus on multi-level governance during times of crisis. We delve into the existing literature on this subject and explore the pivotal role played by regional governments in implementing a wide range of national and sub-national policies to address the challenges posed by the pandemic. Moreover, we examine the interplay between these policy responses, the communication strategies employed by regional leaders, and the perceptions of citizens regarding the roles of national and sub-national authorities. In the second part of the chapter, we proceed to contextualize the Italian case and present an overview of the country’s territorial governance. We focus on its distinctive features but also on characteristics, such as the blurring demarcations between federal and unitary state structures, growing political instability, leader-centric party competition and communication, economic uncertainty, and crisis of democratic representation, which make Italy relevant for the study of general trends in Europe and beyond. Additionally, we delve into the evolution of Italy’s regional system leading up to the pandemic. This comprehensive understanding of the Italian context serves as the foundation for the empirical analyses that will be discussed in the subsequent chapters.