Diego Giannone

The political and ideological dimension of the measurement of freedom of information. Assessing the interplay between neoliberalism and the Freedom of the Press Index

The article aims to analyse the role of measurement in legitimising a specific conception of freedom of information. From a neo-Gramscian perspective, the work draws attention to the way a political and ideological paradigm influences measuring instruments, as well as the contribution of such tools in strengthening the hegemony of that paradigm. By illustrating the rise of neoliberalism as a case in point, the study hypothesises a neoliberal influence on the measurement of freedom of information. To test such assumption, the work describes three ideal typical models of freedom of information – the liberal, egalitarian and neoliberal models – and their connection with specific conceptions of democracy. Then, the article focuses on the Freedom of the Press Index by Freedom House, that is the most used and recognised instrument for measuring freedom of information. Though the Freedom House contends to measure a liberal conception of freedom of information, the analysis of the indicators of the Freedom of the Press Index shows that they mirror the neoliberal model at least with respect to the role of State and Market on media systems, and the conception of media pluralism. The results bring into question the uncritical acceptance of the Freedom of the Press Index as the universal yardstick of freedom of information.

Suspending Democracy? The Governance of the EU’s Political and Economic Crisis as a Process of Neoliberal Restructuring

The economic crisis of the European Union (EU) is threatening also the fragile foundations of European democracy. It is not, however, as it might seem, a transitional stage of ‘authoritarianism of emergency’ due to the severity of the crisis and the need to face it as quickly as possible. Conversely, as this chapter aims to demonstrate, the economic choices made in recent years, the policies imposed on States and European citizens, as well as the method chosen to implement these policies—in brief, what this essay defines as the ‘economic governance’ of the EU—can be read as a further step towards its neoliberalization. This new constitutionalism of the EU is based on a twofold development: on the one hand, the onward de-democratization of European politics, with the substitution of democracy with forms of neoliberal governance; on the other hand, the onward de-politicization of European economy, based on the empowerment of unelected bodies, such as the European Central Bank (ECB), and the marginalization of elected representatives. The chapter describes the neoliberal restructuring of the EU and national states both on the political and economic level, by analysing the EU’s responses to its democratic deficit and the role played by the ECB in the economic and financial crisis.

Measuring and monitoring social rights in a neoliberal age: between the United Nations’ rhetoric and states’ practice

The article aims to describe how the measurement and monitoring of human rights have been changed and weakened by the neoliberal resistance to social rights. In so doing, the study describes the political and ideological context which stimulated the broad conception of human rights included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It then focuses on the ideological turn which occurred over the 1970s from welfare democracy to neoliberal democracy and the neoliberal approach to human rights. Based on a neo-Gramscian approach, the study considers political and ideological reasons as key in explaining both the rise and fall of social rights and the changes in their measurement. As a case in point, the article analyses the work of the UN in measuring and monitoring human rights. In spite of the use by the UN committees of indicators and guidelines aimed at measuring and monitoring the progressive realization of all human rights, results show that the reluctance of many states to implement social and economic rights makes UN efforts ineffective. Both states’ reluctance and instruments’ ineffectiveness can be ascribed to the neoliberal delegitimization of social rights, which is likely to persist in spite of the recent economic crisis.

The power of words: the changing role of the Italian head of state during the Second Republic

Many authors use the metaphor of an accordion to describe the enlargement of the constitutional functions of the Italian head of state: because of the weakness of the political parties the president is able to ‘open and play the accordion’ according to his own interpretation of his institutional powers. While useful, this metaphor does not take into account the structural changes that have occurred over the last 30 years, as well as the informal powers that recent presidents have resorted to, which were the most important factors in the metamorphosis of the presidential figure. Structural changes include the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the First Republic and the mediatisation and personalisation of politics and party structure. Informal powers include those of ‘esternazione’ (a term that roughly means ‘to render public personal statements without previous consultation with the cabinet’) and of moral suasion. By analysing the development of these two powers, this article aims to describe the chang...