muhammadtaqi shariati shiri

It has been several decades since celebrities entered politics; this entry has been so abrupt and overwhelming that some political scientists talk of the celebritization of politics. The celebritization of politics has had a number of far-reaching implications for several areas of politics, including democracy as the major one. Nevertheless, this phenomenon- willingly or unwillingly and whatever the reason- has been left out of serious academic discussions or has been ignored altogether, and hence the lack of a theoretical basis is strongly felt. The present study tries to fill this theoretical gap in the field of politics and pave the way for further research on such a common phenomenon in modern politics. The research findings show that the challenges posed to democracy in the age of celebrity politics need to be examined in three steps that can be set in the political agenda and the politics of distraction; politics of scandal: dramatization of politics and the decline of democracy; and finally the weakening of the party system. The novelty of the present article rests in its discoveries regarding the impact of celebrity politics and examination of the characteristics of this impact on democracy.