Abstentionism in Italy. From the Marginalisation of Voters to the Marginalisation of Politics

In the last decade, voter participation has shown a consistent decline, both in Italy and in all the Western countries. Electoral disengagement has been shaped by three key of factors – demobilitazion, protest and apathy – that have determined today’s extreme low level of turnout. In this article, after discussing some methodological premises on the measurement of abstensionism rate, we aim to explore the reasons behind this growing of abstentionism, with particular reference to the Italian case, which is examined in its time evolution and through different political phases.