Contemporary populism in Italy: The Five Star Movement
Date
2014-10-29
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
The thesis focuses on the Five Star Movement, a political movement in Italy based on an Internet blog, which was
founded by the Italian comedian Beppe Grillo and which in just four years from its birth received the greatest
number of votes in that country’s 2014 European election. The thesis focuses on the rise of 5SM, which was
established in a critical political and economic context that provided a fertile environment for its founder’s antiestablishment
platform and rhetoric. The structure, ideology and actions of the 5SM movement are examined as are
the political and economic contexts in which it arose and now operates.
The 5SM is analyzed as a product of an Italian political culture where populist leaders have dominated the political
scene for many years. The thesis asks whether this movement can be defined as populist, using as a framework for
analysis the work of Mény and Surel “Democracies and the Populist Challenge” (2002), by comparing the 5SM to
other European anti-establishment political parties and movements.
Description
Keywords
populism, Grillo, five stars movement, Italy, digital, utopia
Citation
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
Political Studies
Program
Political Science