Italy’s ‘trilemma’: how to balance integration, sovereignty and democracy following the constitutional referendum

On 4 December, Italian voters rejected a proposed constitutional reform in a referendum, with Matteo Renzi subsequently resigning as the country’s prime minister. Nicolò Fraccaroli writes on where the country now stands, arguing that the situation is best captured as a ‘trilemma’ where economic integration, national sovereignty, and democracy create competing pressures on Italy’s economy and political system.