Elections, governments, heads, and legislatures in Italy 1720-2021

Abstract

Scholars frequently give attention to the case of Italy for the purposes of comparative research. Whether they are concerned with assemblies, cabinets, leaders, or most aspects of governance, Italy often features in studies involving parliamentary systems. To aid students interested in examining the Italian case, I introduce a comprehensive dataset that tracks elections, governments, heads, and legislatures in Italy from 1720 to 2021. The dataset covers the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720-1861), the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946), and the Italian Republic (1946-2021). Primarily, the dataset fills the lacuna vis-à-vis the availability of pre-WWII data. In this research note, I display the features of the dataset as well as presenting one example related to premature dissolutions of the Italian Parliament.