1,720,988 research outputs found
Populism Put to the Polarisation Test: The 2019-20 Election Cycle in Italy
Full text linkOne year after the birth of an unprecedented government characterised by the strong populist stance of both coalition partners (M5S and the Lega) and amid a growing polarisation in party positions on a number of political issues, the European and regional elections of 2019–20 marked an important test for Italy. After presenting the results of the 2019–20 election cycle, the article investigates the most salient lines of party competition and the varying degrees of polarisation. Our analysis shows two kinds of polarisation: the first being the intra-coalitional polarisation which characterised the first Conte government; while the second, affecting the party system as a whole, is driven by the electoral rise of far-right parties
Collusion Between Mainstream Parties and Anti-Establishment Parties’ Success
No full textIt is a common wisdom that outsider parties may take advantage of mainstream parties colluding with each other, either by participating in the same government coalition or significantly reducing their ideological distance. This reinforces populist or anti-establishment leaders claim to represent the only real alternative To traditional politics. The same argument can be presented in spatial terms: the more mainstream parties get closer to each other, the more political space is available for outsider challengers. Although very diffused, such argument has never been empirically tested. This is what we do in this paper. We have assembled an original dataset including governmental coalitions in 17 Western European countries since 1980. In order to test the ‘collusion hypothesis’, we use coalitional formulas as an independent variable to explain the electoral success of outsider parties. Our results show that there is no direct relation between grand coalition formulas and the rise of populist anti-establishment parties
The networked researcher, the editorial manager, and the traveller: the profiles of international political scientists and the determinants of internationalisation
Full text linkThe concept of internationalisation, when referring to the work of social scientists within academic institutions, takes on different meanings and involves different activities. This contribution aims to shed light on the international activities of political scientists across Europe and to investigate the various meanings and practices of internationalisation. The analysis relies on the PROSEPS survey, involving some 1,800 political scientists across 37 European countries. We identify three distinct profiles of international scholars: the networked researcher, the editorial manager, and the traveller. These profiles differ according to 1) the building of international research networks, 2) the involvement in the activities of the international publishing industry, 3) the research and teaching exchanges with foreign academic institutions. Determinants, such as gender, family status, career stage, availability of institutional and financial support, and geographical location, are considered as potential drivers or inhibitors of internationalisation. Our analysis shows that the internationalisation of academic practices follows contrasting paths according to the type of international profile
Populism Put to the Test: The 2019 European Elections in Italy
No full textThe European (and local) elections of 2019 will be an important test for Italy, one year after the birth of an unprecedented government characterized by the strong populist stance of both its coalition partners, the Five Star Movement and the Lega, and a growing polarization in party positions and voters’ views on a number of political issues. This article summarizes the electoral results and interprets them on a short- and medium-term basis. In the short term the framework is that of the second-order elections, based on government popularity, and the positioning of parties on the main issues during the electoral campaign. In the medium term, we analyse the most salient lines of party competition over the last years (including the 2019 elections as a point of arrival) and the varying degrees of polarization along those lines, in search of explanations for the emergence and success of populist and extreme actors. In particular, we investigate whether and to what extent the Italian party system can be best understood along the lines of a new transnational cleavage separating pro-European and Eurosceptic parties, and to what extent such emerging cleavage is compatible with the traditional one, based on preferences over economic redistribution
The other side of platform politics. Law-making and online participatory democracy in the Five Star Movement
Full text linkBetween 2013 and 2021, the Italian Five Star Movement implemented an advanced tool, Lex Eletti, to enhance citizens' online participation in law-making. Elected representatives had to present their draft bills on the party's platform before introducing them in Parliament, allowing ordinary party members to discuss them and suggest modifications. This paper investigates the impact of the Lex Eletti platform on participatory democracy in law-making using text analysis and sentence embeddings to compare draft bills and their parliamentary counterparts. Our analysis of a comprehensive dataset, also including statistics about MPs' and party members' online interactions and MPs' legislative activity in Parliament, reveals that the platform had minimal impact: only a few MPs engaged with it, and user attention for bills on Lex Eletti decreased over time. Interaction between platform users and MPs was also limited. Most bills reached Parliament with little to no modifications, irrespective of platform engagement levels. The Five Star Movement's attempt to foster democratic participation through this platform did not significantly affect law-making activity
Does Collusion between Mainstream Parties Foster Populist Parties’ Electoral Results?
No full textIt is a common wisdom that outsider parties may take advantage of mainstream parties colluding with each other, either by participating in the same government coalition or significantly reducing their ideological distance. This reinforces populist or anti-establishment leaders claim to represent the only real alternative to traditional politics. The same argument can be presented in spatial terms: the more mainstream parties get closer to each other, the more political space is available for outsider challengers. Although very diffused, such argument has never (??) been empirically tested. This is what we do in this paper. We have assembled an original dataset including governmental coalitions in 17 Western European countries since 1980. In order to test the ‘collusion hypothesis’, we use coalitional formulas as an independent variable to explain the electoral success of outsider parties. Our results show that there is no direct relation between grand coalition formulas and the rise of populist anti-establishment parties
Beyond left and right: the eclectic populism of the Five Star Movement
No full textBorn in 2009, the Five Star Movement (FSM) has been one of the most electorally successful European populist parties since 2013. While its classification as a populist party is unanimously accepted, some have considered it close to left-libertarian positions, others as an anti-immigrant far right party, and still others have simply deemed it as unclassifiable. This article sets out to shed light on this question, using the official documents issued by the party since 2009, posts retrieved from Grillo’s blog during three electoral campaigns, and the opinions of the party’s supporters as expressed in three surveys in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Although displaying a clear anti-establishment identity, in economic terms it presents left-of-centre positions inconsistently mixed with more conservative proposals, while on the issues of citizenship and immigration, it has an elusive positioning, mixing national securitisation and international humanitarianism. The conclusions highlight the eclectic nature of FSM’s populism
Parliamentary Elites of New European Party Families: Unsuccessful Challenges or Chaotic Signs of Change?
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Verso il ceto politico della terza repubblica? La rappresentanza parlamentare nella XVI legislatura
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