An introductory section places Italian coalitional behaviour in a theoretical and comparative context. This inductive framework is then used as a reference for examining its historical, constitutional, socio-political dimensions.

Part 1 Interpreting Italian Coalitional Behaviour: The Theory and the Practice; Chapter 1 Coalition Theory and the Case of Italy; Chapter 2 Italy's Part y System and Coalitional Behaviour in Comparative Perspective; Chapter 3 Italian Coalitional Behaviour in the Literature; Chapter 4 Inductive Theory and Research Methodology; Part 2 Italian Coalitional Behaviour: Multi-Dimensional Perspectives on National Politics; Chapter 5 The Historical Dimension: Patterns, Traditions and Conventions; Chapter 6 The Institutional Dimension: Formalities and Realities of Governing Structures; Chapter 7 The Motivational Dimension: Problems of Power, Ideology and Strategy; Part 3 Italian Coalitional Behaviour: Sub-National Politics and Vertical Linkages; Chapter 8 The Horizontal/Vertical Dimension: A Case of Unity in Diversity?; Chapter 9 The Internal Part y Dimension: Elite Control and Elite Constraints; Part 4 Italian Coalitional Behaviour in a Deeper and Wider Setting; Chapter 10 The Socio-Political Dimension: Coalition Politics and the Public Domain; Chapter 11 The Environmental/External Dimension: Wider Perspectives on Italian Coalition Politics;