The variance in multilevel governance of asylum seekers' reception in Italy

Abstract

The chapter analyses the implementation of asylum seekers' reception policy in Italy since the migration crisis of 2011 following the collapse of the Tunisian and Libyan regimes. By using multilevel governance (MLG) as an analytical concept, this chapter explores the evolution of the Italian reception system focusing on the relationship between the national and local levels of reception governance. The chapter compares and contrasts two local case studies in Italy—Torino in the Piedmont region and Treviso in the Veneto region. These two localities have different political backgrounds and legacies and they both experienced a change in the political affiliation of the local administration. Although on paper the Italian reception system is characterised by the existence of various MLG mechanisms, in practice there is a large variance, both over time and across the country, in the way MLG arrangements and instances are deployed and work. Drawing upon interviews carried out with stakeholders involved in reception of asylum seekers at the national, regional and local levels, this chapter aims to show that, among the factors explaining this variance, major roles are played by politics (both at the national and regional/local level), socio-political legacies and the strength of civil society organisations (at the regional and local level).