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‘Locally unwanted land use’ movements: the role of left-wing parties and groups in trans-territorial conflicts in Italy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2016

Gianni Piazza
Gianni Piazza*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Catania
*
∗ Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

In recent years in Italy there have been numerous conflicts related to locally unwanted land use (‘Lulu’). Some have taken on a political dimension that goes beyond the local, becoming ‘trans-territorial’, as they link with similar conflicts elsewhere. This article analyses the role of various left-wing parties and groups (moderate, radical, antagonist) in these conflicts, examining four specific Lulu movements: those against the high-speed rail line (TAV) in Val di Susa; those against the bridge over the Strait of Messina; those against the extension of the US military base in Vicenza (Dal Molin); and those against the construction of a refuse site in the district of Chiaiano (Naples). Analysis of these cases shows that independent variables related to the well-established ‘political opportunity structure’ (POS) model do not fully explain the role played by the various organisations of the left. Other factors ultimately have greater explanatory power: the policy-making that triggers Lulu conflicts, from which emerge both a new centre/periphery political cleavage (national majoritarian democracy vs. local participatory democracy) and a new economic cleavage (growth/economic development vs. alternative models of development); policies and cleavages in their turn determine the splits between leftist parties nationally and locally and, ultimately, shifts in the Italian party system.

Keywords

left-wing partylocal conflictmobilisationsocial movementpolicy-making
Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , August 2011 , pp. 329 - 344
Copyright
Copyright © Association for the study of Modern Italy 

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