Democratisation and Democratic challenges: Comparative Analysis of Emerging Parties in Italy and India

New political movements or parties are often carrier of innovative perspectives and practices with the aim of social justice trough democratic innovation. The 5 Star Movement (M5S, Italy) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, India) are two such cases that controversially combine populist features with novelty. They appeal directly to ‘the People’ and try to refurbish the immediacy of political participation trough decentralisation and devolution; thereby they force the democratic debate to reconsider the quality of people’s engagement, for instance through local commitment as well as through remote participation in the internet. This paper aims to present the main innovative features of M5S and AAP in a comparative perspective and investigate their contribution in terms of democratisation of democracy. It will also critically assess the form of party organisation, rhetoric and operation, in order to highlight shortcomings or unsolved challenges of their proposals. These parties generally include experimentalism, lack organisational crystallisation, and are heavily shaped by the rhythm of the electoral process, but their presence opens paradigms of reflection that engage the polity as a whole, its political framework and democratic theory more widely, especially in light of the comparative approach. Are these parties effectively contributing to the democratisation of democracy? Which patterns of participation do they allow? Which challenges do they face? Which structural contribution do they provide for the progress of democracy? Comparing new political parties in different cultural contexts, which evidence arises to think democratic innovations?