This paper presents the results of a research project on the Movimento Cinque Stelle (M5S – Five-Star Movement) in Italy. Created by the comedian and blogger, Beppe Grillo, in October 2009, the M5S caught international attention in 2012 thanks not only to its rise from under 5 per cent to almost 20 per cent in the polls, but also due to the unusual nature and style of the movement and its leader compared to mainstream parties. However, beyond journalistic accounts of the movement, we know little about how it functions as a multilevel organization. Although referred to as an ‘internet-based’ protest movement which is dominated by its founder, this simplifies and distorts the organizational complexity of the M5S. In reality, the movement represents an original interaction of online and offline mobilization strategies, firstly through the establishment of ‘Beppe Grillo meetup’ groups and secondly through the evolving M5S locally-based organizations, many of whose representatives have now been elected to subnational institutions (and, in late February 2013, more will be almost certainly elected to the national parliament).
The aim of this paper is therefore to fill some of the above gaps in our empirical and theoretical understanding of the M5S. Using fieldwork conducted in several Italian cities during 2013, we examine firstly how the movement is organized at grassroots level both online and offline and, secondly, how these levels interact with Grillo and the movement nationally, again both online and offline. Through interviews with grassroots members and elected representatives, we will also consider how these actors see view the M5S and their roles in it. This will allow us not only to analyze how the movement functions internally, but also to suggest how we can account theoretically for the M5S as a new type of political force.
