This article addresses definitory problems concerning participatory budgeting (PB), the purpose being to underline the governance nature of this instrument. More specifically, considering PB as a particular type of participatory governance arrangement, it focuses on the democratic outcomes of concrete experiences. Adopting the Dahlian process-oriented concept of democracy, three Italian cases are depicted and analysed, according to four critical variables: inclusion, participation, the role of the opposition, and transparency. This enables full description of how PB affects local democracy, both positively and negatively. The article concludes by highlighting two variables that give account of the democratic implications of these practices: the role of the political leadership, and the inclusive strategy adopted. Further, it underlines three additional factors that embody what is commonly referred to as political investment in public-private partnerships: an active role for the opposition, outward communication, and effective participation. While assessing the democratic outcomes, the study highlights how the presence and maintenance of these practices are linked to the role played by civil society and the presence of administrative ties. \ud \ud Résumé \ud Cet article porte sur des problèmes de définition liés au ‘budget participatif’, l’objectif étant de souligner que cet instrument relève de la gouvernance. Plus précisément, en le présentant comme un type particulier de dispositif de gouvernance participative, l’étude s’intéresse aux résultats démocratiques d’expériences concrètes. Reprenant le processus défini par le concept de démocratie de Dahl, trois cas italiens sont présentés et analysés en fonction de quatre variables critiques: inclusion, participation, rôle de l’opposition, transparence. Il est ainsi possible de décrire précisément l’impact, tant positif que négatif, du budget participatif sur la démocratie locale. La conclusion met en avant deux variables qui rendent compte des implications démocratiques de ces pratiques: le rôle des autorités politiques et la stratégie d’inclusion adoptée. En outre, elle souligne trois autres facteurs qui traduisent ce qu’on appelle couramment l’investissement politique dans les partenariats public-privé: le rôle actif de l’opposition, une communication extérieure et une participation efficace. Tout en évaluant les résultats démocratiques, l’étude montre comment la présence et la continuité de ces pratiques sont liées au rôle de la société civile et à l’existence de connexions administratives

This article carries a broad definition of public-private concertation as a flexible form of governance that is able to overcome the distinction between network governance and participatory governance. It creates a unified framework relying on a process-related democratic approach in order to properly assess these practices in their democratic outcomes. This allows the article to fully depict how local governance arrangements affect local democracy, both positively and negatively. Drawing on four exemplary cases of urban policies developed in the Province of Milan, it highlights two variables that give account of the democratic implication of these practices: the role of the political leadership and the inclusive strategy that they adopt. Moreover, it underlines four additional factors that help more democratic outcomes: presence of cognitive justification, quality of participation, active opposition, and an outward communication.

This article analyses and compares the multi-dimensional co-ordination of employment and social policies at the Italian local level, especially focusing on the policy implementation stage. It departs from developing a theoretical framework to take into account the crucial variables that might potentially impact on the co-ordination of social cohesion policies. In particular, following a neo-institutionalist approach, great emphasis is placed on the legacy of the Weberian bureaucratic model, and its implied ‘specialisation ethos’. In addition, the effect of other contextual variables, such us social capital and the rate of unemployment, are considered.\ud \ud The empirical analysis confirms the crucial impact of the specialisation ethos in preventing inter-policy co-ordination from occurring at the Italian local level, and the relevance of other contextual variables in causing policy integration within services, rather than between services

In this paper, we analyze how gender affects women's political participation. More specifically, we test the effect of gender ideology on young women's participation in political consumerism. The current literature suggests different reasons to explain the gap in political participation between men and women, most importantly focusing on socio-economic resources, gender roles, and political socialization, whereas little attention has been devoted to the individual interpretation of a woman and man's own role in society. We test the effects of gender ideology on political consumerism, a form in which women participate more than men. We analyze political consumerism among young urban women, the population most likely to hold an egalitarian gender ideology. Moreover, we compare young women with different job conditions. Although the gender gap is closing or reversing in regard to specific forms of participation, such as consumerism, some inequalities remain, and our study contributes to understanding differences in participation among women themselves.

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本論文では、市民社会内の情報ネットワーク形成と政治分野への関与する組織のイデオロギー的な所属性の役割を分析する。カトリックと左派所属がキェルツェ(ポーランド)、トリノ(イタリア)に影響を与えるかどうかを調査する。本論文では異なる社会的なネットワーク分析手法を適用して、双方の都市で同類のパートナーを好む傾向があるかを調査する。ただし、提携による影響はトリノの政策決定の権利が予測されるが、キェルツェではこの影響によって社会における主体関係者が中心になって仲介される。双方の都市では、ネットワークがカトリック組織において高い集約性を持つことが特徴付けられるが、これは政治分野における多大な関与によるものである。冷戦終結後から25年間経っており、政治的関与とローカル・ガバナンス構造形態への影響に対する強力な予測となる。This article analyses the role of organizations’ ideological affiliation in shaping information networks within civil society and in granting access to the political sphere. It investigates whether the Catholic and Leftist affiliation of organizations impacts in the city of Turin (Italy) and Kielce (Poland). Applying different social network analysis techniques, the article finds that in both cities there is a tendency towards preferring similar partners. However, while the influence of affiliation is relevant to predict the access to policy making in Turin, in Kielce, this influence is mediated by the actor’s centrality in the social sphere. In both cities, networks are characterized by the higher centrality of Catholic organizations, which also translate in a greater involvement in the political sphere. Twenty-five years after the end of the cold war, past-affiliation is still a strong predictor of political involvement and impacts on the shape of local governance structure.Cet article analyse le rôle de l’appartenance idéologique des organisations pour l’élaboration des réseaux d’information au sein de la société civile et l’autorisation de l’accès à la sphère politique. Il cherche à savoir si l’appartenance catholique et de gauche des organisations exerce une influence dans la ville de Turin (Italie) et de Kielce (Pologne). L’article, qui applique différentes techniques d’analyse des réseaux sociaux, constate qu’il existe dans les deux villes une tendance à préférer des partenaires semblables. Cependant, alors que l’influence de l’appartenance est pertinente pour prévoir l’accès à la prise de décision à Turin, à Kielce cette influence dépend du rôle central de l’acteur dans le domaine social. Dans les deux villes, les réseaux se caractérisent par le rôle central plus important des organisations catholiques, ce qui se traduit également par une plus grande implication dans la sphère politique. Vingt-cinq ans après la fin de la guerre froide, l’appartenance au passé est encore un indicateur fort de la participation politique et impacte la forme de la structure de gouvernance locale.El presente artículo analiza el papel de la afiliación ideológica de las organizaciones a la hora de dar forma a las redes de información dentro de la sociedad civil y de otorgar acceso a la esfera política. Investiga si la afiliación católica o izquierdista de las organizaciones afecta a la ciudad de Turín (Italia) y Kielce (Polonia). Aplicando diferentes técnicas de análisis de redes sociales, el artículo encuentra que en ambas ciudades existe una tendencia a preferir socios similares. Sin embargo, aunque la influencia de la afiliación es relevante para predecir el acceso a la form...

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Recent research on morality policy has focused on policy change, morality framing and the presence of favourable cultural opportunity structures (COSs). The resulting literature describing various aspects of morality policy has failed to discuss the impact of multilevel dynamic in this field. This contribution examines gambling policy in Italy, applying a multilevel approach to detect the presence of favourable COSs, and whether policymakers frame policies morally. Italy offers a particularly fertile field for the study of morality policy, featuring a liberal national approach versus local restrictive policy. By applying a methodology based on semistructured interviews and secondary sources, we examine the national and local political spheres, demonstrating that morality framing, when detected, is more likely to be found at the local level where the influence of experts and interest groups on legislators may result in the transformation of a health policy based on paternalistic considerations.