| |
| author |
Ludovica Gioacchini
| | title |
Italy, A Promised Land of Populism: An Analysis of the Five Star Movement and Its Strategic Ascent to Power
| | abstract |
Populism has become a prominent feature of the political landscape. In Europe, an
anti-immigrant backlash against the 2015 migrant crisis helped fuel the rise of far-right,
nationalist parties whose leaders often adopt a populist style. Italy is one of the European
countries that has experienced durable forms of populism in the last few decades. The emergence
of the "Lega" in the late 1980s and the unexpected performance of Berlusconi, the leader of
"Forza Italia" in the early 1990s, represented the first steps of populism's recent history in Italy
and the success of the "Five Star Movement" (M5S) since 2013 has expanded the variety of
populism. The M5S is a somewhat right-wing, populist movement, yet with its own unique
characteristics. Multiple scholars have identified different variables and factors that have favored
the emergence and explain the popularity of populist parties in Europe. In this research I am
going to test whether these identified variables apply to the Italian M5S or whether there are
other underlying and unique structures that have led to the rise of this "pure populist party."
| | school |
The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University
| | degree |
B.A. (2020)
|
| advisor |
Allan C. Dawson
Carlos Yordan
|
| full text | LGioacchini.pdf |
| |
