Fortunato Musella – författare

Personalisation is the most relevant political phenomenon of our time. After the decline of structural and ideological foundations of Western democracies, a radical shift from collective to individual actors and institutions has occurred in several political systems. On the one hand, political leaders have gained centrality on the democratic scene as a consequence of both a more direct, sometimes plebiscitary, relationship with citizens, and a more direct control of the executive administration. On the other hand, a process of fragmentation occurs at the mass level, where electoral volatility has strongly increased and the spread of social media enables each citizen to express their convictions in the self-referential autonomy of the digital networks. Monocratic Government: The Impact of Personalisation on Democratic Regimes analyses the consequences of personalisation of political leaders on democratic government by asking whether it is possible to keep together demos and kratos in a post-particratic context. It explores topics such as governmental decrees, Trump-governance, and includes an analysis of the coronavirus outbreak. Offering comparative insights and exploring how political leaders govern in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, and Hungary, this volume brings into focus the study of political personalisation in relation to some of the key trends – and crises – in modern politics.

Personalisation is the most relevant political phenomenon of our time. After the decline of structural and ideological foundations of Western democracies, a radical shift from collective to individual actors and institutions has occurred in several political systems. From the one hand political leaders have gained centrality on the democratic scene, as a consequence of both a more direct, sometimes plebiscitary, relationship with citizens, and a more direct control of the executive administration. From the other hand a process of fragmentation occurs at the mass level, where electoral volatility has strongly increased and especially after the spread of social media each citizen elaborates his convictions in the self-referential autonomy of the digital networks. This book analyses the consequences of personalisation of political leaders on democratic government, by asking whether it is possible to keep together demos and kratos in a post-particratic context. It explores topics such as governmental decrees, Trump-governance, and analysis of the coronavirus outbreak. The book brings to the fore the study of political personalization in relation to some of the most important crises and trends in modern politics. It does so offering comparative insights, exploring how political leaders govern in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, and Hungary.

Topics covered include political leaders’ increasing autonomy, their reinforcement of popular legitimation, often through the introduction of direct election by party rank and file, and their grip on party organization.