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Developing in a period of perceived decline of the labor movement, social movement studies have for a long time paid only limited attention to struggles against social inequalities and, more generally, the structural conditions for the development of some fundamental conflicts. Only recently, addressing social struggles for global justice and against austerity, they have started to return to the social bases of protest. In this article, I point at the particular relevance in this historical moment of revisiting the contribution of Italian sociologist Alessandro Pizzorno to the understanding of class conflicts in turbulent times. While class analysis has been more and more focused on social stratification, reflecting on waves of intense contention is therefore important in order to single out how organizational resources and identification processes can indeed develop in action, from the mobilization itself, rather than being a precondition for it. While much research on social stratification seems to have forgotten the complexity of class conceptualization, looking mainly at statistical aggregates, the work of Alessandro Pizzorno helps refocusing attention on the ways in which class solidarity emerges during workers’ struggles. In this sense, it talks to recent reflections on a return not only of labor action but also of classes as driver of history.

Europeanization indicates not only the construction of the institutions of the European Union (EU), but also the changes in the politics and policies of the member states. Studies of Europeanization look at the impact of the European Union on the national systems of the member states, addressing processes of resistance, transformation, and adaptation to EU policies and norms in member states, shifting attention from the supranational level to multi-level governance. Linked to this is the notion that public policies are produced in a complex system where several norms and implementing agencies interact. Keywords: democracy; globalization; movements; Europe

While the normative debate on European integration has addressed the importance of the construction of truly democratic institutions as well as the establishment of social rights at EU level, the role of progressive social movements has not been much debated. Building upon theorization and research in social movement studies, I argue that progressive social movements are indeed already contributing to the construction of European public spheres. Not one liberal (or bourgeois), public sphere but the proliferation of subaltern counterpublics could allow for the participation of the excluded, giving them the possibility to make their political voice heard. Through different paths of Europeanization (in particular, domestication, externalization and transnationalization), progressive social movements have played an important role in the creation of a critical public sphere as, by contesting European institutions, they have contributed to make them (more) accountable, but have also developed collective identities at EU level and, with them, European public spheres. A main challenge is now to connect an emancipatory critical public to public institutions.

The increase in income and wealth inequality in Italy is well documented, but less attention has been devoted to its association with social and political outcomes. This article investigates the association between inequality and several variables on socio-economic conditions with the evolution of Italian politics over the 1994–2018 period. Voting in Italy’s regions for the centre-left and centre-right coalitions—with a focus on the Lega—is examined in seven rounds of general elections, before and after the 2008 crisis, which emerges as a key divide in these relationships. The centre-left vote is higher in the regions with an increase in mean wealth and employment rates and shows a reversal after 2008 in the support of part time employees. The centre-right vote is associated with impoverished middle classes and an increase in disparities of Southern regions. The associations shown by Lega voting are distinct from those of other centre-right forces. While political and cultural factors are important to understand political changes, our findings show that a more unequal and distressed society is clearly associated with changes in electoral behaviour.