Abstract
The aim of the research project is to study the energy transition with reference to the Italian case focusing on interest groups dynamics and actors’ coalitions as relevant factors in determining national energy policies. Even if renewable energy technologies have become increasingly competitive, appropriate policies continue to remain critically important for their future development. National arenas are key on this regard: public policies at this level implement international (and EU) agreements and programs, and provide financial and regulatory support for increasing the role of renewables in the energy mix. Different actors’ coalitions hence seek to influence national energy policymaking, and policy developments will help determine the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ of the energy transition. The proposed research project focuses on the role of interest groups, big businesses and advocacy coalitions in the process of energy transition at the national level. Particularly, the research project intends to elucidate the structure and composition of these actors’ coalitions and their role in the policy making process concerning the financial and regulatory measures supporting (or hindering) the deployment of renewable energy technologies at the national level. The research project intends to analyse these dynamics with reference to the Italian case. Although the research project covers the beginning of the Italian energy transition and the initial development of the Italian renewable energy policy subsystem, its main empirical focus will be on two key time-phases: the post-pandemic period, characterized by the formulation and implementation of the Italian recovery plan (PNRR); and the post 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine period, characterized by the energy crisis and the EU and national response to the crisis. These two periods represent critical junctures for the Italian energy transition. The decisions taken in these junctures will shape the future development of the Italian energy policy and energy system. Methodologically, the project relies on the methods of process tracing, interviews, and network analysis techniques. The project’s expected results and impacts are manifold. First, the project will improve the analytical knowledge of the politics of the energy transition and the role played by interest groups, gas and oil incumbents, renewable industries and advocacy coalition in it. This knowledge is very important to design policy measures able to increase the supporters of the energy transition making this process more feasible. Secondly, the project will close an important gap in the literature, as there is no research on these topics covering the Italian case. Finally, the project will help the consolidation of a network of early-career and senior researchers on the politics and policy of the Italian energy transition. This network will be important for disseminating knowledge, developing comparative studies, and contributing to an informed public debate on the Italian energy transition.Specifically, the main research results will consist of articles to be published in academic journals in political science and related fields; papers to be presented at national and international conferences; events for discussion and debate with experts and policy makers; and finally, at least one co-authored book, possibly comparative, including other case studies. Principal Investigator e altri membri del gruppo di ricerca/ The research project team is composed of: Andrea Prontera, Principal Investigator - Associate Professor - Department of Political Sciences, Communication and International Relations - University of Macerata Renata Lizzi - Head of the Unibo Research Unit e/o Associate Investigator – Department of Social and Political Sciences - University of Bologna Paola Arrigoni – Research Fellow at the Unibo Research Unit - Department of Social and Political Sciences - University of Bologna Luca Germano, Head of the UniRoma3 Research Unit - Associate Professor – Department of Political Science - University of Roma Tre Claudia Mariotti - Research Fellow at the UniRoma3 Research Unit – Department of Political Science – University of Roma Tre Sito web: https://dsps.unibo.it/it/ricerca/progetti-di-ricerca RESULTS ACHIEVED AND PRODUCTS Literature collection and review with a bibliographical thematic database divided by approach and by macro energy sources, functional to support research on the phases of the transition: gradual exit from fossil fuels, rebirth of nuclear power, diffusion of renewables. Learning and using DNA method to map relationships among actors, discourses, and narratives. DNA allowed the research group to select texts, codify contents, identify all the relevant actors/players in the Italian energy transition, and analyze the major coalitions supporting gas, other fossil fuels, technological neutrality, renewables, and nuclear power. Database on Italian energy elite. The construction of a database on energy incumbents in Italy in the time period considered and of the elites who led the major energy companies in the relevant phases of the energy transition followed the prosopographic method used by other databases available on economic elites at a global level. PUBLICATIONS Arrigoni Paola e Lizzi Renata (2026), Élite e incumbency nella transizione energetica italiana: fra conservazione, resistenza e lento adattamento, POLIS - Ricerche e studi su società e politica , 1/2026 Arrigoni, P., Mariotti, C., Germano, L., Lizzi, R., Mastroianni, L., & Prontera, A. (2026). Back to the past? Discourse coalitions in Italy's emerging nuclear policy debate. Energy Strategy Reviews, 63, 102035. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X26000015 Prontera, A., Arrigoni, P., Lizzi, R., & Rubino, A. (2025). Relaunching the Italian energy transition: Are incumbent electric utilities moving from resistance to support?. Energy Research & Social Science, 130, 104452. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221462962500533X Hanau Santini, R., & Prontera, A. (2025). Italy’s foreign energy policy and the Mattei Plan: more than meets the eye?. Contemporary Italian Politics, 17(4), 514-535. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23248823.2025.2543210 Renata Lizzi; Andrea Prontera, (2024) The NRRP and the Italian energy transition. Interest groups in implementation, between structural power, insiderness and new coalitions, Contemporary Italian Politics, pp. 1-19, https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23248823.2023.2291911 Book forthcoming 2027 Contract with the Publisher Routledge will lead to the publication in 2027 of the book “The politics and policies of the energy transition in Italy,” which will include the following – among others - chapters relating to University of Bologna: 1. Introduction: The Study of Energy transitions and the Italian Case (Renata Lizzi, Luca Germano, Andrea Prontera) 2. Incumbents and Industrial Players in the Italian Energy Transition (Renata Lizzi and Paola Arrigoni) 3. Renewable Energy Policy in Italy (Renata Lizzi, Andrea Prontera) 4. A ‘Sustainable’ Nuclear Energy Policy for Italy? (Paola Arrigoni, Claudia Mariotti) 5. Conclusions: Eppur si muove (Renata Lizzi, Luca Germano, Andrea Prontera) DISSEMINATION – SEMINARS & CONFERENCES 2023: Annual conference Società Italiana di Scienza Politica (SISP), Università di Genova, 14-16 Settembre 2023. Presentazione del paper: ‘The NRRP and the energy transition in Italy between interest groups, new coalitions and old national champions - Renata Lizzi, Andrea Prontera. Programma: https://www.sisp.it/wp-content/uploads/SISP_CONFERENCE_2023-2.pdf 2024: Annual Conference Società Italiana di Scienza Politica (SISP), Università di Trieste, 12-14 Settembre 2024. Panel 6.10: Who governs the twin transitions of energy and digital in Europe? Elites, networks coalitions, emerging interests and strategies, between private and public sphere. Programma: https://www.sisp.it/wp-content/uploads/SISP_2024_FINAL.pdf Luca Germano, Renata Lizzi e Andrea Prontera (co-chairs), organisation of the panel 6.10 “Who governs the twin transitions of energy and digital in Europe? Elites, networks coalitions, emerging interests and strategies, between private and public sphere”. 37° Convegno della Società italiana di Scienza politica (SISP), 12-14 September, 2024 Università di Trieste. Renata Lizzi – Paola Arrigoni presented the paper “Élite energetica e incumbency nel contesto economico-politico della transizione energetica italiana: fra adattamenti conservativi e spinte innovative” Panel 6.10 37° Convegno della Società italiana di Scienza politica (SISP), 12-14 September, 2024 Università di Trieste. 2025: Conference on Sustainable Transitions and Governance l’Università di Macerata, 5-6 Giugno 2025. ‘Studiare le transizioni energetiche, ambientali e industriali. Progetti PRIN a confronto’. Programma Renata Lizzi and Paola Arrigoni participated in Macerata Seminar “Studying Energy, Environmental and Industrial Transitions – PRIN Projects compared” Macerata 5-6 June 2025 and presented the paper "Energy elites and incumbent companies in Italian energy transition: strategies and resources to driving and/or inhibiting the transition process." Annual conference Società Italiana di Scienza Politica (SISP), Università di Napoli, 4-6 Settembre, 2025. Panel 6.14: Making sense of Energy Transitions: contextual factors, divergent coalitions and policy mixes. Programma: https://www.sisp.it/wp-content/uploads/Programma-SISP-NAPOLI-2025.pdf Luca Germano, Renata Lizzi e Andrea Prontera (co-chairs), organisation of the panel “Making sense of Energy Transitions: contextual factors, divergent coalitions and policy mixes Convegno nazionale della Società italiana di Scienza politica (SISP), Napoli 4-6 September 2025.
Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Renata Lizzi
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e Sociali
Coordinatore:
Università degli Studi di MACERATA(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 93.487,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
28/09/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
