Italy’s ‘trilemma’: How to balance integration, sovereignty and democracy following the constitutional referendum

On 4 December 2016, Italian voters rejected a proposed constitutional reform in a referendum, with Matteo Renzi subsequently resigning as the country’s prime minister. Nicolò Fraccaroli writes on where the country now stands, arguing that the situation is best captured as a ‘trilemma’ where economic integration, national sovereignty, and democracy create competing pressures on Italy’s economy and political system.

• Primary Source

ESO: Key source: Italian constitutional referendum, 2016 http://www.europeansources.info/record/italian-constitutional-referendum-2016/

ESO: Background information: Matteo Renzi resigns after Italian referendum rout http://www.europeansources.info/record/matteo-renzi-resigns-after-italian-referendum-rout/

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