Public Administration Under Populist Rule in Italy

The special issue «Populism, public administration and public policy in Italy» aims to appraise the impact of Italian populist governments in three domains that have been overlooked by the expanding literature on public administration and public policy under populist rule, namely ministerial advisors, independent regulatory authorities, and subnational governments. Italy is a noteworthy case as it witnessed six coalition governments dominated by populist parties in the period 2001-2025. In this introductory article we investigate the policy preferences of Italian populist parties in terms of public administration reforms. We then analyze the various ‘populist governments’ (2018-2025) in order to verify if specific public administration reforms have been adopted and implemented. After presenting an overview of the special issue, we conclude by offering insights on possible avenues for further research.