The morphological character of ideologies is closely related to the context in which they manifest themselves (Freeden, 2008). Furthermore, political polarisation is the tendency for the concentration of political supply mainly around two opposing poles (McCarty, Poole, Rosenthal, 2006). These poles are characterised by high levels of ideological distance and high homogeneity within them, resulting in a lower propensity of voters to move from one side to the other (Fiorina, Abrams, 2008; Druckman, Peterson, Slothuus, 2013). This paper analyses the ideological polarisation in Italy, focusing on the results of the 2022 general elections. The research moves from a combined and comparative analysis of the structural contexts of the territories and the forms of electoral behaviour in the different territorial investigated contexts. The results show how the economic, demographic, and social structure influences voting choices, and it can be considered a valuable tool for identifying the forms of ideological polarisation in the current Italian political scene. The 2022 general election returns a picture of an Italy divided into two blocs characterised by different forms of electoral competition: the Centro-Nord, wherein the political clash is between the heirs of the traditional ideologies of right (Lega, FdI) and left (Democratic Party); the Mezzogiorno is the arena of the electoral competition between the so-called hybrid-tactical forces (5-Star Movement and FI), that stand outside the system of traditional political forces. These empirical findings allow us to reflect on the nature of the opposite universes of Italian ideological polarisation.
Il carattere morfologico delle ideologie è strettamente correlato al contesto in cui si manifestano (Freeden, 2008). La polarizzazione politica è la tendenza alla concentrazione dell'offerta politica principalmente attorno a due poli opposti (McCarty, Poole, Rosenthal, 2006). Questi poli sono caratterizzati da elevati livelli di distanza ideologica e da un'elevata omogeneità al loro interno, con conseguente minore propensione degli elettori a spostarsi da una parte all'altra (Fiorina, Abrams, 2008; Druckman, Peterson, Slothuus, 2013). Questo articolo analizza la polarizzazione ideologica in Italia, concentrandosi sui risultati delle elezioni generali del 2022. La ricerca muove da un'analisi combinata e comparata dei contesti strutturali dei territori e delle forme di omportamento elettorale nei diversi contesti territoriali indagati. I risultati mostrano come la struttura economica, demografica e sociale influenzi le scelte di voto e possono essere considerati un valido strumento per identificare le forme di polarizzazione ideologica nell'attuale scenario politico italiano. Le elezioni politiche del 2022 restituiscono un quadro di un'Italia divisa in due blocchi caratterizzati da diverse forme di competizione elettorale: il Centro-Nord, in cui lo scontro politico è tra gli eredi delle tradizionali ideologie di destra (Lega, FdI) e di sinistra (Partito Democratico); il Mezzogiorno è l'arena della competizione elettorale tra le cosiddette forze ibride-tattiche (Movimento 5 Stelle e FI), che si collocano al di fuori del sistema delle forze politiche tradizionali. Questi risultati empirici consentono di riflettere sulla natura degli opposti universi della polarizzazione ideologica italiana.
Opposite Universes. A Focus on the Ideological Polarization of the Italian Electorate / Mongiardo, Melissia; Palmieri, Marco. - In: PARTECIPAZIONE E CONFLITTO. - ISSN 2035-6609. - 3:17(2024), pp. 661-681. [10.1285/i20356609v17i3p661]
Opposite Universes. A Focus on the Ideological Polarization of the Italian Electorate
Marco Palmieri
2024
Abstract
The morphological character of ideologies is closely related to the context in which they manifest themselves (Freeden, 2008). Furthermore, political polarisation is the tendency for the concentration of political supply mainly around two opposing poles (McCarty, Poole, Rosenthal, 2006). These poles are characterised by high levels of ideological distance and high homogeneity within them, resulting in a lower propensity of voters to move from one side to the other (Fiorina, Abrams, 2008; Druckman, Peterson, Slothuus, 2013). This paper analyses the ideological polarisation in Italy, focusing on the results of the 2022 general elections. The research moves from a combined and comparative analysis of the structural contexts of the territories and the forms of electoral behaviour in the different territorial investigated contexts. The results show how the economic, demographic, and social structure influences voting choices, and it can be considered a valuable tool for identifying the forms of ideological polarisation in the current Italian political scene. The 2022 general election returns a picture of an Italy divided into two blocs characterised by different forms of electoral competition: the Centro-Nord, wherein the political clash is between the heirs of the traditional ideologies of right (Lega, FdI) and left (Democratic Party); the Mezzogiorno is the arena of the electoral competition between the so-called hybrid-tactical forces (5-Star Movement and FI), that stand outside the system of traditional political forces. These empirical findings allow us to reflect on the nature of the opposite universes of Italian ideological polarisation.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.