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Academia 23
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Self-Governance at it's best?
Academia Nr: 23 (Juli / luglio 2000)
The Autonomous Province of South Tyrol presents an interesting model of self-governance, believes Melissa Magliana, author of the new study of the European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano
Interview with Melissa Magliana
Academia: Why did you choose to write your thesis for an American University degree on the South Tyrolean autonomy?
Magliana: Having relatives living in South Tyrol, I've always been interested in the history of South Tyrol. When I majored in Politics at Princeton University, I specialized on the topic of self-determination and on the possibility of resolving self-determination related conflicts through autonomy and self-governance. South Tyrol emerged as a very good example of the peaceful resolution of such a conflict. Also, there is a great deal of material about the South Tyrolean autonomy in German and Italian, but very little in English. The South Tyrolean model of autonomy stands out in the context of increasing European integration and the decreasing significance of borders within Europe, and lessons learned from South Tyrol can be useful for other, less fortunate regions. It is for this reason that information on the South Tyrolean Autonomy in English is particularly useful.
A:Is that the main purpose of your publication, to inform about the history of the South Tyrolean Autonomy?
M:Not only. The publication provides a summarized history of the South Tyrolean autonomy with an explanation of the current administration, organization and structure of the province. The second part focuses on more actual questions such as: What's South Tyrol's role in Europe? Where does the region stand right now? Can South Tyrol be considered a success and if so, why? In order to answer these questions, I tried to highlight economic, political and social factors of success.
A:How did you conduct your research?
M:For the historical and economical studies I worked primarily on original documents in German and Italian. For the actual question "Self-Governance in South Tyrol: Why it Worked", I conducted interviews with representatives from South Tyrol of the three language groups, South Tyrolean experts and politicians, as well as the Austrian Ambassador in Rome, Günther Bierbaum, and the former Italian prime minister and current President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi. From this point of view, I hope that the publication will be interesting to South Tyrolean experts as well, as I try to combine history, economic and social questions with the everyday reality.
A:What's a summary of your publication?
M:The work presents an analysis of the essential characteristics of the South Tyrolean case and an evaluation of the possibility and potential success of self-governance. South Tyrol offers concrete incentives to pursue autonomy as opposed to independence, but it is not suggested that any region would develop in the same manner, or that what will happen in South Tyrol will necessarily happen elsewhere. As with any model, there are certain limitations, however, the case of South Tyrol is successful in raising pertinent issues, providing direction and introducing key methods for the protection of minority groups within sovereign states around the world and should therefore be continually studied in its development.
The interview was held by Sigrid Hechensteiner
Melissa Magliana (on the right) graduated in June 1999 from Princeton University (USA) with a degree in Political Economy, and minors in Germanic and Romance Languages and Literatures. Despite being born in the United States, she is of a German-South Tyrolean and Italian background, and has lived and studied throughout Europe, including in Meran/Merano (South Tyrol) and in Sophia Antipolis, France. As Executive Assistant to the Chair of the Liechtenstein Colloquia on European and International Affairs, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, she has worked on several conferences dealing with issues of self-determination and autonomy, with a particular focus on the future of South Eastern Europe. She is currently a Research Assistant to the Liechtenstein Research Program on Self-Determination (Princeton, NJ) and a Junior Researcher in the Department of Minorities and Regional Autonomies at the European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano.
The South Tyrolean Autonomy
In 1915, Italy entered the First World War through a secret agreement - signed with Britain, France and Russia - that promised extensive territorial compensation for joining the war. It was by this Treaty that Italy was promised South Tyrol, and on September 10, 1919, in violation of the principle of self-determination, South Tyrol was officially signed over to the Italian kingdom. When Mussolini came to power in 1922, the South Tyrolean population was subjected to severe assimilation and italianization tactics, under which Italian was declared the only official and recognized language, the German language, customs and traditions were banned and German speaking residents were dismissed from public posts. After the Second World War the Brenner border between Austria and Italy was confirmed, and South Tyrol was ensured autonomy by the Gruber – De Gasperi Agreement, signed with Italy on September 5, 1948. The nature of the autonomy became a topic of dispute in the post-war period, both between South Tyrol and Italy, as well as internationally, and in 1972 a second autonomy statute was drafted granting South Tyrol more extensive legislative and administrative capacities. The official settlement of the dispute before the United Nations, in which South Tyrol, Austria and Italy agreed that a satisfactory situation had been reached, was not until 1992. The current autonomy provides South Tyrol with far-reaching autonomy within the Italian state and aims at protecting the cultures and languages of the various groups living within the province.
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