This book provides a lively and comprehensive account of the unprecedented Italian general election of 2018 and of its profound significance for Italy and beyond. The contributions in this volume cover the political, economic and international contexts in which the vote took place, and consider the main election contenders in the run-up to the election as well as the campaigns. The book further examines the election outcome, analysing the votes and discussing the impact of the election on the turnover of parliamentary personnel as well as examining the outcome from the viewpoint of government formation.

Luigi Ceccarini is a researcher for the Laboratory of Political and Social Studies, LaPolis, at the University of Urbino "Carlo Bo", Italy, where he teaches society and politics. He is co-editor ofComunicazione Politica and the author ofLa cittadinanza online (2015) andTra politica e società (with I. Diamanti, 2018).

James L. Newell is a former professor of politics at the University of Salford, UK, and currently a visiting professor at the University of Turin, Italy. He is co-editor of Contemporary Italian Politics and the author of Corruption in Contemporary Politics(2018) and Silvio Berlusconi: A Study in Failure (2018).

1 Introduction. 4 March 2018: The paradoxical election (Ceccarini and Newell).- Part I The Context.- 2 The Political Context 2013-2018 (Newell).- 3 The Economic Context 2013 (Capriati).- 4 An ever tighter constraint: The implications of the Eurozone and migration crises for Italian politics (Amadia Viceré).- Part II The Run-up to the Election.- 5 The three perspectives of the left and the gradual loss of its electorate (Natale).- 6 The parties of the centre right (Newell).- 7 Five stars, five years, five (broken) taboos (Bordignon and Ceccarini).- Part III The Campaign.- 8 Issues and themes in the 2018 Italian general elections (Valbruzzi).- 9 Journalistic narratives and political communication strategies against the background of a critical mood: The 2018 election campaign in the traditional media and beyond (Roncarolo and Cremonesi).- 10 Digital campaigning: The communications strategies of the leaders on Facebook Cepernich.- Part IV The Outcome.- 11 Volatile voters and a volatile party system: The results of the 2018 Italian general election (Chiaramonte and Paparo).- 12 Members of the Chamber of Deputies following the 2018 general election (Marino, Martocchia Diodati and Verichelli).- 13 The formation of the government (Pasquino).- 14 Conclusion. Italy in Uncharted Territory: Towards a new era of uncertainty (Ceccarini and Newell).