I nuovi confini della comunicazione politica

Abstract

For a long time, studies on political communications were limited to examining the effects practised by the mass media on electoral behaviour, emphasizing the slide towards growing forms of “political show.”Starting from the i98o,s, the crisis of the political parties and the changes present in the ordering of the Italian establishment had, however, made even more apparent another inclination.Today, in fact, political communication is no longer limited to horizontal relations among the parties or between the majority and the opposition, but it involves, in a vertical manner, the relationship between institutions and society. In order to offset the representation of the crisis, political parties and institutions therefore frequently resort to mobilization procedures for issues, directed to obtain either the consent of public opinion or the start of new conclusive proceedings.