Hidden Virtues of the Italian Democracy During the Populist Peak 2018-2019

• In Event: Populism

Abstract

The article reads the evolution of the recent political conjuncture that began in Italy after the 2018 elections when challenger parties reached almost 50% of the votes. The first part of the article
introduces the notions used for this “structured episode” study. Then it refers to the to the degree of which formal and informal institutions can provide effective defense to democracy. For instance, it considers some Rules of Procedure of the Houses of Parliament, the powers of the President of the Republic to exert a constitutional influence over political decisions and other institutional guarantees. The last part of the article reconstructs how some formal and informal institutions of the Italian democracy reacted to the unexpected political conjuncture of the populist peak. Finally, it also assesses the strategies of mainstream parties vis-à-vis extremist ones. In this short but significant period of time, several dynamics made by formal and informal institutional succeeded to cope with political instability.

Author

• Matteo Laruffa, LUISS University