Concept of Populism and Analysis of the Politics of Silvio Berlusconi

The presented paper deals with a theoretical concept of populism and analysis of political style and politics of one of the most important but also most controversial figures of Italian politics over the past few decades, Silvio Berlusconi. The main objective of this paper is to verify the initial hypothesis that Silvio Berlusconi is a pragmatic contemporary politician whose politics and the political style includes identifiable elements of populism and to answer the question whether Silvio Berlusconi, due to the theories outlined on populism, could be considered as a representative of populism and whether his case meets the definition criteria set out in the theoretical part. A secondary objective is to provide a clear overview of the conceptual aspects of populism and it' s causes and identify these on the case of Italy. The work is divided into three parts. After introduction in a second chapter the theoretical and methodological framework will be defined. With a general focus on the concept of populism we will map the contemporary theoretical knowledge concerning this issue. The paper briefly summarizes the historical development of the populist movement in contemporary Western democracies, clearly and comprehensively summarizes the defining features of the theoretical concept of populism and..