Keywords: celebrity politics, political leadership, fans, leadership style, communication strategies.
The article focuses on the phenomenon of celebrity politics in contemporary democracies.
It discusses several contributions on celebrity politicians. In particular, it approaches the
topic from the viewpoint of possibile uses of celebrity by political leaders. It distinguishes
from cases of leaders for whom celebrity is an intrinsic feature from those cases for whom
celebrity is a communication strategy among others and is useful to shape and/or correct
a public image. Then the article argues that a full comprehension of celebrity leadership
requires a more extended analysis of followers’ attitudes and behavior. Drawing on a parallel
between political followers and fans, the article points at the relevant changes produced by
the digital platforms and highlights possibile research avenues.