Populistinių radikalių dešiniųjų partijų stiprėjimas: Italijos atvejis ; The Rise of Populist Radical Right-Wing Parties: The Case of Italy
Radical Right parties are not a new subject for research scientists. Analysis of such parties" successful or unsuccessful performance in political arena during the last decades raises a lot of unanswered questions among political scientists. One of the main concerns is to indicate what the causes for Radical Right parties" growth are. Answers to such dilemmas are hidden in separate state cases, because to explain such a phenomenon as the growth of Radical Right parties is more like a complex study and in different states it may vary. Ordinary explanations, such as: disappointment of the current government, increased flow of immigrants, - are not necessarily common components which can explain the causation even in similar states. In this thesis the case of Italy is analyzed by answering how the Radical Right parties gain more and more importance in governing the country and how it is supported by the populism these parties use in their rhetoric. The government of Italy has been formed in 2018 from populists "Five Stars Movement" (Cinque Stelle) and anti-immigrant party "Northern League" (Lega Nord) which is building an evident confrontation with the EU institutions and Italy"s ruling class. Both, Radical Right position and populist rhetoric are counted as harmful elements for further democratic and political processes. What is more, it is a threat for the stability and security of the EU. Being the third economy in the EU, Italy could misbalance all the union, by choosing the wrong path towards instability zone. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the case of Italy by answering in what ways and depending on what circumstances the right wing in gaining more power and how populism is supporting it. In order to explain it, the main focus is put on the economical globalization, which is used as theoretical background. The thesis analyzes how neoliberalism intensifies instability and insecurity. The failure of the Welfare State is also a substantial factor in explaining the rise of Radical Right. Such context is understood as a favorable setting for analyzed parties. The spectrum of political right and left is also explained in this work: what are the differences between these two parts, how both wings emerge and act, and how the blurring distinguishing line between left and right causes the rise of Radical Right populist parties. This works also reveals the concept of Radical Right, focusing on previous research works in political science. A considerable notice is also marked on the phenomenon of populism. A clear access and conception of Radical Right and populism is based on the interpretation of the pathology of democracy. The complex link between the Radical Right flange, populism and stable democratic state is analyzed. Before analyzing a particular case, the criteria for defining the characteristics of Radical Right parties and populism dispersion are described. An individual research model is created, which marks most common characteristics of radical right found in scientific literature. Analysis is conducted by answering how such parties use populism and what are the circumstances and specific conditions which determine the successful performance of radical right wing. Eventually, the negative impact is evaluated. In the study case descriptive and content analyses methods are being used. In conclusion, main questions of the analysis are answered. Research shows, which ideologies of Radical Right are the most significant in explaining the growth of Radical Right parties in Italy. The most significant expressions of populism are also picked out, in the case of Italy.