Italian politics continue to chart new institutional paths. As governments change without the apparent instability of previous decades, political parties transform themselves and personalist modes of governance emerge. New policy concerns - immigration and highway safety - join with perennial concerns - health reform, regional governments, and economic policy. A former Prime Minister, Roman Prodi, now serves as President of the European Commission, highlighting Italy's deepening integration into the European Union. The volume addresses core themes in the institutional transformation of the Italian Republic.