The Brexit effect in media coverage: how the intra-party democracy counters the rise of European populism

ended

The main objective of the research is to conduct a pilot study in UK aimed at investigating the phenomenon of populism after the Brexit referendum, explaining how the intra-party democracy and deliberation can defuse its growth. In that respect, the research will consist of two distinct steps: 1) to analyse the media coverage after the Brexit referendum in order to identify populist issues; 2) to observe how party members elaborate these populist issues. As to the first step, analysis of media coverage, I will examine the interpretative frames that politicians, journalists and observers relied upon within the public debate. In particular, I will focus on the news about Brexit in a populist perspective and on its relevance after referendum in the public debate. As regards the second step, particular attention will be paid to the party members in order to examine how they elaborate 'populist' issues in a deliberative process. The importance of the study lies in the originality of the object under analysis. UK is an ideal case study for understanding the adaptation of populism in the European context and analyzing whether and how the intra-party democracy are able to counter the rise of phenomenon. The study has the potential to be expanded nationwide or into a comparative cross-country research. In fact, the research results will be used to analyse the next elections to European Parliament, understanding which policy “mechanisms” are able to contain populism impact on the European institutions.