The silent storm: the clash of values between left and right at times of abstention

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA E RICERCA SOCIALE
Author/s Stefano Nobile, Lorenzo Sabetta
Publishing Year 2023 Issue 2023/131
Language Italian Pages 13 P. 50-62 File size 244 KB
DOI 10.3280/SR2023-131004
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The article analyzes the profile of the Italian electorate in the light of the 2022 elections, focusing on the aspects of abstention and populism. The data show a significant increase in abstention and the predominance of populist par- ties of different political orientation. Research shows that abstentionism and populism are two sides of the same coin, fueled by the electorate’s mistrust of the political class and dissatisfaction with democratic devices. The work con- cludes that the contradiction between right and left has not been overcome and that the Italian electorate is positioned on a range of diversified cultural and political values.

  1. J. Agnew, M. Shin (2017), «Spatializing Populism: Taking Politics to the People in Italy», Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 107, 4, pp. 915-33, DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2016.1270194
  2. J. Agnew, M. Shin (2020), Mapping Populism: Taking Politics to the People, Lanham (MD), Rowman & Littlefield.
  3. P. Aprile (2010), Terroni. Tutto quello che è stato fatto perché gli italiani del Sud diventassero meridionali, Milano, Piemme.
  4. A. Azmanova (2011), «After the Left–Right (Dis)continuum, Globalization and the Remaking of Europe’s Ideological Geography», International Political Sociology, 5, 4, pp. 384-407,
  5. M. Baloge, N. Hubé (2022), «How populist are populist parties in France? Understanding par- ties’ strategies within a systemic approach», European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, 9, 1, pp. 62-82, DOI: 10.1080/23254823.2021.2016455
  6. I. Blühdorn (2013), Simulative Demokratie, Berlin, Suhrkamp.
  7. N. Bobbio (1994), Destra e sinistra. Ragioni e significati di una distinzione politica, Roma, Donzelli.
  8. S. Bradford, F.J. Cullen (2022), «The Advantages of Chaos, Myth-Makingand Covid-19 in Hungary», Populism, 5, pp. 1-27.
  9. W.H. Brekhus (2020), The Sociology of Identity, Authenticity, Multidimensionality, and Mobi- lity, Cambridge (UK), Polity.
  10. J.L. Broz, J. Friedn, S. Weymouth (2021), «Populism in Place, The Economic Geography of the Globalization Backlash», International Organization, 75, pp. 464-94.
  11. R. Brubaker (2021), «Paradoxes of populism during the pandemic», Thesis Eleven, 164, 1, pp. 73-87, DOI: 10.1177/0725513620970804
  12. C. Cepernich (2007), Le pietre d’inciampo. Lo scandalo come meccanismo sociale, Ariccia, Aracne.
  13. P. Corbetta, E. Gualmini (a c. di) (2013), Il partito di Grillo, Bologna, il Mulino.
  14. J. Diamond (1997), Guns, Germs and Steel, The Fates of Human Societies, New York, Norton & Co.; tr. it. Armi, acciaio e malattie, Torino, Einaudi, 1997.
  15. M. Edelman (1988), Constructing the Political Spectacle, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press; tr. it. Costruire lo spettacolo politico, Nuova Eri, Torino, 1992.
  16. N. Ernst, S. Blassnig, S. Engesser, F. Büchel, F. Esser (2021), «Populists prefer Social Me- dia over Talk Shows, An Analysis of Populist Messages and Stylistic Elements across Six Countries», Social Media + Society, pp. 1-14, DOI: 10.1177/2056305118823358
  17. E. Felice (2016), Perché il Sud è rimasto indietro, Bologna, il Mulino.
  18. N. Fraser, A. Honneth (2003), Redistribution or Recognition? A Political‐Philosophical Exchange, London, Verso.
  19. L. Gallino (2012), La lotta di classe dopo la lotta di classe. Intervista a cura di Paola Borgna, Roma-Bari, Laterza.
  20. A. Giddens (1994), Beyond Left and Right. The Future of Radical Politics, Cambridge (UK), Polity.
  21. N. Gidron, P.A. Hall (2017), «The politics of social status, economic and cultural roots of the populist right», The British Journal of Sociology, 68, pp. S57-S84, DOI: 10.1111/1468-4446.12319
  22. G. Gozzini (2014), La mutazione individualista. Gli italiani e la televisione 1954-2011, Roma- Bari, Laterza.
  23. R. Guolo (2011), Chi impugna la Croce. Lega e Chiesa, Roma-Bari, Laterza.
  24. M. Helbling, S. Jungkunz (2020), «Social divides in the age of globalization», West European Politics, 43, 6, pp. 1187-1210, DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2019.1674578
  25. D. Jörke (2021), Voting and Non-voting in Post-democratic Times, in C. Wiesner (ed.), Rethin- king Politicisation in Politics, Sociology and International Relations, London, Palgrave.
  26. R. Kemmers (2017), «Channelling discontent? Non-voters, populist party voters, and their me- aningful political agency», European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, 4, 4, pp. 381-406, DOI: 10.1080/23254823.2017.1339203
  27. R. Kemmers, J. van der Waal, S. Aupers (2016), «Becoming politically discontented, Anti- establishment careers of Dutch nonvoters and PVV voters», Current Sociology, 64, 5, pp. 757-74, DOI: 10.1177/0011392115609651
  28. C.M. Koch, C. Meléndez, C. Rovira Kaltwasser (2021), «Mainstream Voters, Non-Vo- ters and Populist Voters: What Sets Them Apart?», Political Studies, online first, DOI: 10.1177/0032321721104929
  29. A. Langenkamp, S. Bienstman (2022), «Populism and Layers of Social Belonging: Support of Populist Parties in Europe», Political Psychology, 43, 5, pp. 931-49,
  30. P. Mair (2013), Ruling the Void, The Hollowing of Western Democracy, London, Verso.
  31. G. Meardi, I. Guardiancich (2022), «Back to the familialist future, the rise of social policy for ruling populist radical right parties in Italy and Poland», West European Politics, 45, 1, pp. 129-53, DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2021.1916720
  32. L. Mosca, F. Tronconi (2019), «Beyond left and right: the eclectic populism of the Five Star Mo- vement», West European Politics, 42, 6, pp. 1258-83, DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2019.159669
  33. C.T. Nguyen (2018), «Echo chambers and epistemic bubbles», Episteme, 32, pp. 1-21,
  34. A. Noël, J.-P. Thérien, É. Boucher (2021), «The Political Construction of the Left-Right Divi- de: a Comparative Perspective», Journal of Political Ideologies, 26, 3, pp. 317-334, DOI: 10.1080/13569317.2021.1978734
  35. K. Noordzij, W. de Koster, J. van der Waal (2021), «A revolt of the deplored? The role of per- ceived cultural distance in the educational gradient in anti-establishment politics», British Journal of Sociology, 72, pp. 1448-63, DOI: 10.1111/1468-4446.12892
  36. L. Ozzano (2020), The Masks of the Political God. Religion and Political Parties in Contempo- rary Democracies, Lanham (MD), Rowman and Littlefield.
  37. J. Pratt (2023), Populism, Punishment and the Threat to Democratic Order, The Return of the Strong Men, New York, Routledge.
  38. W. Quattrociocchi, A. Vicini (2018), Liberi di crederci. Informazione, internet e post-verità, Torino, Codice.
  39. L. Ricolfi (2008), Perché siamo antipatici. La sinistra e il complesso dei migliori prima e dopo le elezioni del 2008, Milano, Longanesi.
  40. L. Ricolfi (2022), La mutazione. Come le idee di sinistra sono migrate a destra, Milano, Rizzoli.
  41. H. Schadee, P. Segatti, C. Vezzoni (2019), L’apocalisse delle democrazia italiana. Alle origini di due terremoti elettorali, Bologna, il Mulino.
  42. R. Simone (2010), Il mostro mite. Perché l’Occidente non va a sinistra, Milano, Garzanti.
  43. P. Surridge (2018), «Brexit, British Politics, and the Left-Right Divide», Political Insight, De- cember, pp. 4-7.
  44. H. Tumber, S. Waisbord (eds.) (2021), The Routledge Companion to Media Disinformation and Populism, New York, Routledge.
  45. K. Urbanska, S. Pehrson, S. Guimond (2021), «Power to the people: Disidentification with the government and the support for populism», Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology, 5, pp. 79-89,
  46. D. Vampa (2023), Brothers of Italy. A New Populist Wave in an Unstable Party System, London, Palgrave.

Stefano Nobile, Lorenzo Sabetta, La tempesta silenziosa: lo scontro dei valori tra destra e sinistra ai tempi dell’astensionismo in "SOCIOLOGIA E RICERCA SOCIALE " 131/2023, pp 50-62, DOI: 10.3280/SR2023-131004