Hide and Seek: Neoliberalizing the State and “Stating” the Neoliberal in the Italian Media System

Abstract

The author claims that neoliberal discourse plays “hide and seek” with the state, which appears at the same time absent and present, negated, and necessitated. In order to test its limits, the paper historicizes such discourse by engaging with the Italian case. More specifically, this study examines the most representative figure of Italian neoliberalism, former prime minister and media tycoon, Silvio Berlusconi, and his ambiguous relationship with the state. Drawing on Marx and Gramsci's conceptualization of the state, the paper sheds light on the Italian context as well as the more general characteristics of the neoliberal state.

Keywords:

• State
• Neoliberalism
• Media
• Berlusconi
• Italy

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Susana Martinez Guillem, Kent Ono, and the anonymous reviewer who assisted in shaping and developing the ideas of this essay.

Notes

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[54] Gramsci, Selected Writings, 238.

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