Deliberativa, diretta o partecipativa?

Abstract

Representative democracy is currently challenged in all Western political systems. In Italy this challenge in recent years has been launched in a distinctive way by the Movimento Cinque Stelle (M5s, Five Star Movement). According to the leader of this Movement, Beppe Grillo, the widespread diffusion of information technology tools enables direct democracy, allowing citizens to take part in political decisions without politicians and political parties’ intermediation. The article aims, first, to explore the links and differences between the concepts of deliberative, direct and participatory democracy. On the basis of this conceptual clarification it then identifies which “idea” of democracy inspires the M5s. Analysis of documents and statements of the M5s shows that, in a very contradictory way, the Movement tries to combine three different challenges to representative democracy: a reformist challenge (through the strengthening of a set of instruments of direct democracy, such as referenda, within an institutional frame that remains centered on the parliament), an utopian challenge (the complete transcendence of representative democracy through the massive use of ICT tools) and a plebiscitary challenge (which is expressed via a top-down use of the web).