Beyond left and right: the eclectic populism of the Five Star Movement

Abstract

Born 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.     

The Scotish National Party and the Italian

Abstract. As European regional autonomy parties, the Scottish National Party and the Italian Lega Nord present important similarities in the way they appeal to voters. Both parties, too, have recently been favoured by very similar social and political changes. Yet, of the two parties' recent electoral advances, that of the Lega has been by far the more striking. This can be explained in terms of the relative inability of the Lega 's main rival, the Democrazia Cristiana , to adapt to its challenge. The Scottish National Party's main rival, the Labour Party, is better able to adapt owing to the long-standing institutionalisation of regional conflict in Britain.     

Diffusion Processes and Discussion Networks: An Analysis of the Propensity to Vote for the 5 Star Movement in the 2013 Italian Election

The article aims to analyze the development of the propensity to vote for a new populist party, Movimento 5 Stelle (the 5 Star Movement, M5S), during the campaign for the 2013 Italian general election. The party, headed by a former comedian, Beppe Grillo, gained 25% of valid votes in the election, thus becoming the largest party in the Italian political landscape. Using rolling cross-sectional, pre-election data from the Italian National Election Study (ITANES), we show that the propensity to vote for the M5S is boosted by voters’ exposure to discussions on political matters with discussants from non-cohesive social groups (especially acquaintances). We also show that, together with the spread of support for this party, this effect increases during the campaign.     

推进党代表任期制的关键:正确处理五大关系

根据党的十七大"实行党的代表大会代表任期制"的要求,以改革创新的精神切实推进党代表任期制的关键是:正确处理好五大关系.即党代表与党员的关系,党代表与党代会的关系,党代表与党代表团的关系,党代表与党委、纪委的关系,党代表与人大代表、政协委员的关系.     

新型政党制度所蕴含的中国智慧

中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度是从中国土壤中生长出来的新型政党制度,充分汲取了中国传统民本智慧、和合智慧、包容智慧,展现出了无与伦比的内在优越性,实现了群众根本利益与群体特殊利益的有机统一、实现了政党关系的非对称性和谐、实现了通过政党协商进行科学民主决策、实现了集中力量办大事,从而克服了垄断型一党制和竞争型两党制、多党制的固有弊端。作为和谐型多党制的新型政党制度充分展现了中国智慧,为世界政党制度发展与进步提供了新方向和新选择。     

Long-term Changes in Danish Party Politics: The Rise and Importance of Issue Competition

In Denmark and Norway, major research programmes known as the 'power and democracy studies' have evaluated the functioning of the political systems and democracy in general, highlighting numerous changes in both Danish and Norwegian politics over recent decades. However, despite the broad range of studies that characterize both programmes, it is striking how little attention has been paid to changes in party politics and party competition. This article, which focuses on Danish politics, argues that attention to the development of party competition would have been warranted for two reasons. First, party competition has undergone a transformation from class to issue competition. Political parties increasingly focus their efforts on influencing the content of the political agenda rather than positioning themselves with regard to a limited number of issues deriving from their class bases. Second, this transformation arguably explains some of the findings of the power and democracy studies, especially concerning political decision making.     

中国之治与新型政党制度效能

中国之治彰显中国制度的优越性。新型政党制度是以多党合作为显著特征的政党制度,旧式政党制度是以多党竞争为显著特点的政党制度。新型政党制度相对于旧式政党制度在国家治理方面表现出无可比拟的制度优势,实现了在社会发展形态和国家治理效能上的双重超越。中国新型政党制度效能优势突出表现在具有强大组织动员力、利益整合力、民主科学的决策力和秩序保障力,是一项符合中国国情、管用、高效的民主制度体系。     

中国新型政党制度的比较优势

中西政党政治的治乱对比,展现出中国共产党领导的多党合作和政治协商制度相对于西方政党制度的比较优势。具体表现为:从领导核心看,中国共产党集中统一领导与不断自我革命,展现出卓越领导力;从党群关系看,中国新型政党制度强调真实持久代表最广大人民利益,而不是代表少数人利益;从党际关系看,中国新型政党制度强调多党间肝胆相照的合作,而不是党派之间的恶性竞争;从党政关系看,中国新型政党制度强调负责任的治国理政,而不是利益集团导向的施政。中国新型政党制度增加了人类政治文明发展的多样性和可能性,是中国对人类政治文明的一大贡献。     

新时代我国新型政党制度建设及功能优势

随着中国特色社会主义进入新时代,我国多党合作制度建设在从"中国特色",到"中国方案"的实践探索中取得一系列新进展,新型政党制度的功能优势得到充分彰显。以提升"制度效能"为引领,政党互动模式和互动机制不断探索创新,培育出日益巩固完善的新型政党关系;从内生性、合法性、互动性等三个维度,内在生成并逐步输出政党制度功能优势的基本评价范式,主动把握了政治制度和政党制度的话语权;在时间维度上与中华人民共和国成立前的旧制度相比,在空间维度上与当前西方国家实行的政党制度相比,其独特优势在更大空间、更深层面释放,呈现出更为强大的社会整合、政策优化、政治稳定和民主功能,为催生世界政党政治文明新形态提供了中国智慧。     

Mafia-Related Prejudice and the Rise of Italian Americans in the United States

Italian immigrants to the United States and their offspring have long been the target of prejudicial accusations concerning their allegedly prominent role in criminal activities. This article investigates the influence of such an ethnic bias on their political ascent. Although politicians of Italian descent have benefitted from connections to gangsters and racketeers, especially in the Prohibition years, underworld-related charges have for the most part limited their political success because they have undermined voters' trust in candidates of Italian ancestry. The Mafia-connection stereotype gained momentum in the aftermath of the revelations of the Kefauver Committee in the early 1950s. However, it continued to have significant influence on the election campaigns of Italian Americans at least until Geraldine Ferraro's 1992 bid for the US Senate. Despite the progressive assimilation of Italian Americans, the perception of members of this ethnic group as potential criminals has persisted, and still haunts politicians of Italian extraction. Significantly, even Italian-American candidates have recently resorted to the Mafia prejudice to discredit fellow ethnic opponents.