New Social Cleavages and the Transformation of Italy’s Party-Political System in the Second Republic

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

The subject of the study is the transformation of Italy’s party-political system in the Second Republic and the formation of new social cleavages affecting electoral behavior and the configuration of the party landscape. The object of the study is the contemporary Italian political space, including the main parties: the Democratic Party (PD), the League (Lega), Brothers of Italy (FdI), and the Five Star Movement (M5S), as well as their electoral and organizational strategies. The author examines in detail aspects such as the influence of Euro-skepticism, the immigration cleavage, regionalism, cultural and value conflicts, and populist trends on the fragmentation of the party system. Special attention is paid to the dynamics of party support across different regions, including North–South differences, as well as the interaction between party strategies, digital media channels, and intra-party organizational modernization. The analysis explores how new lines of conflict and structural changes in the party system shape long-term trends in political mobilization, redistribution of electoral support, and strengthening or weakening of party blocs. The study highlights under-researched aspects of the Second Republic, including the complex interplay of cultural values, migration, and regional specificity. The study employs a comparative-historical analysis, the social cleavages framework of Lipset and Rokkan, and Sartori’s model of party systems. The empirical base includes ISTAT demographic statistics, enabling the identification of spatial and temporal patterns in party system transformation. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the integrated synthesis of social cleavage theory and empirical analysis of the Second Republic, allowing the identification of new lines of political fragmentation and assessment of their systemic impact on the party-political structure. For the first time in Russian and international Italian studies, under-researched aspects are analyzed: the immigration cleavage as part of a multidimensional conflict, regional differences between North and South, the role of digital media channels, and intra-party organizational modernization. The study demonstrates that new lines of conflict contribute to the redistribution of electoral support among right-wing, populist, and centrist parties, increasing the fragmentation and volatility of the party system. The Italian case illustrates the importance of accounting for cultural and structural factors in comparative analyses of European party systems.

About the authors

Il'ya Igorevich Zaitsev

Email: zaes007@mail.ru

References

  1. Lipset S. M., Rokkan S. Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives. New York: Free Press, 1967.
  2. Sartori G. Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976.
  3. D'Alimonte R. 12 Italy: A Case of Fragmented Bipolarism / The Politics of Electoral Systems. Oxford University Press, 2005.
  4. Зонова Т. В. Партийная система Италии // Актуальные проблемы Европы. 2018. № 2. EDN: XNIXAL.
  5. Ковалева А.Ю. Феномен Сильвио Берлускони в контексте особенностей политики и средств массовой информации Италии // Вестник МГИМО. 2016.
  6. Маслова Е. А., Шебалина Е. О. Трансформация партийно-политической системы Италии // Современная Европа. 2021. № 2 (102).
  7. Алексеенкова Е.С. Политический процесс в современной Италии: антиполитика и популизм эпохи Второй республики. М.: Институт Европы РАН, 2023. doi: 10.15211/9785981632136 EDN: DXUUDI.
  8. Bartolini S. Restructuring Europe. Centre Formation, System Building, and Political Structuring between the Nation State and the European Union. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
  9. Mauro D., Verzichelli L. Political elites and immigration in Italy: party competition, polarization and new cleavages // Contemporary Italian Politics. 2019. Vol. 11. No. 4.
  10. Magistro B., Wittstock N. Changing Preferences versus Issue Salience: The Political Success of Anti-immigration Parties in Italy // South European Society and Politics. 2021. Vol. 26. No. 3. doi: 10.1080/13608746.2021.2009107 EDN: NPHKDY.
  11. Luca P., Melcior R., Luca S. Italy: Immigration and the evolution of populism // European Journal of Political Economy. 2023. Vol. 76.
  12. Albertazzi D., Giovannini A., Seddone A. ‘No regionalism please, we are Leghisti!' The transformation of the Italian Lega Nord under the leadership of Matteo Salvini // Regional and Federal Studies. 2018. Vol. 28. No. 5.
  13. Mudde C., Kaltwasser C.R. Populism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
  14. Corso L. When Anti-Politics Becomes Political: What can the Italian Five Star Movement Tell us about the Relationship Between Populism and Legalism // European Constitutional Law Review. 2019. Vol. 15. No. 3.
  15. Biorcio R., Sampugnaro R. Introduction: The Five-star Movement from the street to local and national institutions // Contemporary Italian Politics. 2019. Vol. 11. No. 1.
  16. Bickerton Ch., Accetti C. ‘Techno-populism' as a new party family: the case of the Five Star Movement and Podemos // Contemporary Italian Politics. 2018. Vol. 10. No. 2.
  17. Inglehart R. Modernization and Postmodernization: Cultural, Economic, and Political Change in 43 Societies. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997.

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download

Согласие на обработку персональных данных

 

Используя сайт https://journals.rcsi.science, я (далее – «Пользователь» или «Субъект персональных данных») даю согласие на обработку персональных данных на этом сайте (текст Согласия) и на обработку персональных данных с помощью сервиса «Яндекс.Метрика» (текст Согласия).