Bové Rud (2024) Persona and Politics. The Democratic Staging of Personality-Driven Leadership in Italy.

Abstract

This review examines Alberte Bové Rud’s Persona and Politics: The Democratic Staging of Personality-Driven Leadership in Italy (2024), which explores the rise of personality-driven politics through the cases of Silvio Berlusconi, Matteo Salvini, and Giorgia Meloni. The dissertation argues that contemporary political legitimacy increasingly derives from leaders’ staged identities rather than policy programmes or party organisations. By distinguishing attention from power, it offers a novel framework for understanding political personalisation. The review highlights the study’s conceptual innovation, methodological breadth, and balanced normative assessment, while also raising questions about its relationship to populism scholarship and the evolving interplay between attention and institutional power.