Italian and Politics

Italian and politics is a combination that places the Italian political experience at the centre of a broader engagement with political theory and comparative government. Italy has one of the most complex and historically rich political systems in Europe, with a history of democratic instability, powerful regional identities, distinctive political parties and an unusual relationship between politics, organised crime and civil society. Studying Italian alongside politics gives you both the linguistic access to engage with that experience directly and the analytical frameworks to understand it in comparative perspective.

At the University of Edinburgh, this four-year degree benefits from a distinctive feature: Edinburgh is unique in Scotland, as the university notes, in offering students a full academic year abroad within the four-year honours programme, regardless of whether students spend the year studying or working. This means you will have a sustained period of immersion in an Italian-speaking environment, developing your language skills and your understanding of Italian society and politics from the inside. You will study Italian language to an advanced level alongside Italian literature, culture, history and cinema, while the politics strand develops your understanding of political theory, comparative politics, international relations and the specific dynamics of European and Italian political systems.

The skills the combination develops, including advanced language competence, political analysis, cross-cultural understanding and the ability to engage with primary sources in another language, are highly valued across many international professional contexts.

Graduates go on to careers in diplomacy, European institutions, international organisations, journalism, the civil service, politics and public affairs, international business, translation and interpreting, education and research. Further study in Italian, politics or European studies is also a common route for those interested in specialist or academic careers.