The voting people : discourse, norms, and practices of the first universal suffrage vote in France and Italy (1848-1849).

Summary The thesis studies in a comparative way the first European implementation of universal suffrage (direct male) which took place both during the Second Republic and during the Italian democratic experiences (Venice, Roman States, Tuscany). At the level of discourse and law, the thesis analyzes the debates from the Thirties and the codifications of the years 1848-49, while, as far as practices are concerned, it focuses on the convocation of the French and Roman constituent assemblies. This multidimensional approach allows us to verify that the collective character of the 1848-49 vote is not the result of the interaction of an archaic society and vision of politics with supposedly modern institutions, but the consequence of conceptions of suffrage and their translation into electoral legislation. In short, the protagonist is not the individual voter, but the "voting people", celebrated for their wisdom and their natural inclination to make good choices.