Forms of Political Transnationalism. The External Voting of the Italians in Sydney

This book reports research on the political behaviour of Italians living in Sydney. The aim is to verify the substance of the widespread criticism brought against the political representation of external voters: namely that the right to vote is granted to uninformed and uninterested people who usually abstain. By using qualitative methods and according to social attributes such as the different generations of migrants and their level of education, we address the following research questions: How do Italians in Sydney participate in Italian politics? What role is played by the ‘Italian’ networks active in Sydney? What factors affect the political transnationalism of Italians in Australia? The results will show significant differences among the various groups of emigrants in terms of both their interest in Italian politics and their opinion of the law regulating their right to vote from abroad.