The so-called “relaunch” of the European integration process, culminating in the signing of the European Single Act, caught the Italian left in the midst of a political and cultural transformation that was as ambitious as it was full of unknowns. Communists and Socialists became aware, around the mid-1980s, of the importance of Europe as an external constraint of national government and, at the same time, as a tool for moderating the impact of globalization on nation-states. The antagonism between the PCI and PSI on the national level did not prevent the ripening of a long-distance discussion on some of the main issues concerning the reform of the European community. In these years, monetary governance, in particular, was the catalyst for the reflections of economists, technicians and party intellectuals from these two political areas, who debated about the prospect of a “phase two” of the European Monetary System as a premise for bolder developments toward the political and economic unity of the Europeans. The article reconstructs this debate, highlighting both its potential and limits, against the backdrop of the closing phase of the Cold War and the transformations taking place in the international economy.
Globalizzazione, costruzione europea e moneta unica. La sinistra italiana nello scenario dell’Atto Unico Europeo (1984-1987) / Guiso, Andrea. - In: DIMENSIONI E PROBLEMI DELLA RICERCA STORICA. - ISSN 2723-9489. - 1:(2024), pp. 33-65.
Globalizzazione, costruzione europea e moneta unica. La sinistra italiana nello scenario dell’Atto Unico Europeo (1984-1987)
Andrea Guiso
2024
Abstract
The so-called “relaunch” of the European integration process, culminating in the signing of the European Single Act, caught the Italian left in the midst of a political and cultural transformation that was as ambitious as it was full of unknowns. Communists and Socialists became aware, around the mid-1980s, of the importance of Europe as an external constraint of national government and, at the same time, as a tool for moderating the impact of globalization on nation-states. The antagonism between the PCI and PSI on the national level did not prevent the ripening of a long-distance discussion on some of the main issues concerning the reform of the European community. In these years, monetary governance, in particular, was the catalyst for the reflections of economists, technicians and party intellectuals from these two political areas, who debated about the prospect of a “phase two” of the European Monetary System as a premise for bolder developments toward the political and economic unity of the Europeans. The article reconstructs this debate, highlighting both its potential and limits, against the backdrop of the closing phase of the Cold War and the transformations taking place in the international economy.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.