Immigration policies, global governance and "welfare populism": the Italian case study

In the political perspective adopted by the neo-populist movements, the fight against immigration becomes part of a broader strategy intended to defend national sovereignty against the globalization processes. According to the storytelling proposed by these groups, the stranger is a dangerous competitor in the access to services and employment inside a society with an increasing gap between rich and poor. The latest literature has defined this ideological setting as welfare populism or welfare chauvinism, it means that type of opposition against European institutions and globalization processes "which carries a more utilitarian than xenophobic connotation [...] observed in more prosperous Northern European states where fears are fueled that immigrants will abuse and hollow out national social systems".