This article has been subjected to double blind peer review

This article has been published in: Ocula 22, Be cool. How a Cultural Icon is Born

authors: Marco Mazzoni (Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia (IT)) and Roberto Mincigrucci (Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche, Università degli Studi di Perugia (IT))

The (Ordinary) Superleader. Matteo Salvini and his Body

language: italian

abstract: According to scholars, today’s political leaders face with the “paradox of democratic leadership”: on the one hand, they have to appear as strong statesmen, in possession of particular skills that gave them the authority to rule the people. On the other hand, they are allowed to rule by the people, and they have to appear similar and intimate with common people. Analyzing the pictures that Salvini publishes on his personal Facebook profile, we try to understand how Matteo Salvini aims to solve the aforementioned paradox. Our main hypothesis is that Salvini implements a strategic use of his “political body”, mixing the features of a “super leader” with the ones of an “ordinary person”.

citation information: Marco Mazzoni and Roberto Mincigrucci, Il superleader (“ordinario”). Matteo Salvini e il suo corpo, "Ocula", vol.21, n.22, pp.96-117, April 2020. DOI: 10.12977/ocula2020-10

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