POLITICS WITHOUT FAIR PLAY. Perceptions and practices of political incivility by Italian citizens, politicians and journalists

Room G. 001 Bontadini 23 September 2025

What is political incivility? Is it just verbal aggression or does it also include a lack of respect for democratic values and institutions? How do Italian citizens perceive this phenomenon that threatens the public debate and the functioning of democracies?  What are the motivations behind political incivility and the containment strategies proposed by politicians and journalists? 

These questions are at the heart of the research project of national interest (PRIN) "Attribution, Perceptions, and Practices of Political Incivility in Europe". The project was led by a team of researchers from the Sapienza University of Rome, the University of Urbino Carlo Bo and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, under the coordination of Prof. Sara Bentivegna (National Principal Investigator, Sapienza University of Rome), Prof. Giovanni Boccia Artieri (coordinator of the Urbino unit) and Prof. Giovanna Mascheroni.

 On 23 September 2025, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore will host the event in Milan to present the results of the research, aimed in particular at journalists, press offices, political and public communicators, spokespersons, administrators and political representatives.