Losing the future: second generations, citizenship denied and the new italian exodus
Losing the future: second generations, citizenship denied and the new italian exodus

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the recent surge in “second emigration” from Italy, focusing on second-generation youth and newly naturalized citizens –“new Italians” – who are leaving the country in growing numbers. Drawing on recent demographic trends, the study argues that this outflow constitutes a structural loss of qualified human capital with far-reaching economic,demographic, and civic implications. While labor-market precariousness and skill underutilization matter, the analysis shows that the primary drivers lie in deficits of social and symbolic recognition: delayed and restrictive citizenship pathways, persistent occupational segregation, and subtle yet durable forms of exclusion that undermine belonging. Comparative evidence from other European contexts (France, Germany, Benelux, Nordic countries) indicates that more permeable citizenship regimes and meritocratic career channels both accelerate inclusion and reduce the need for outward mobility.The article situates these dynamics within Italy’s broader “demographic winter,” highlighting feedback loops between shrinking working-age cohorts,weakened innovation capacity, and the export of domestically trained talent. It further interprets the failed June 2025 referendum on citizenship reform and the contemporaneous tightening of ius sanguinis transmission (DL 36/2025, L.74/2025) as emblematic policy signals: a simultaneous contraction of diasporic inclusion and reluctance to recognize second generations at home. The combined effect is a symbolic and material message of exclusion that intensifies one-way mobility and erodes civic cohesion.The conclusion advances a policy agenda that reframes citizenship as a lever of inclusion and nation-building. It calls for a coherent reform aligning residence based access with European standards, targeted “brain gain/return”instruments, and systemic measures that translate educational inclusion into professional and civic inclusion. Without such a shift, Italy risks consolidating a training system that subsidizes more inclusive economies while deepening its demographic and productivity challenges.

• Details
• Contents