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What Impact have the Anti-corruption and Anti-mafia Claims of the Lulu Mobilizations on Local Governance? The Cases of No Tav, No Ponte and No Muos Movements in Italy

Conflict
Contentious Politics
Governance
Local Government
Social Movements
Mobilisation
Protests
Gianni Piazza
Università di Catania
Gianni Piazza
Università di Catania
Giuliana Sorci
Università di Catania

Abstract

Urban transformations often provoke citizens’ reactions usually labelled as NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) or LULU (Locally Unwanted Land Use) mobilizations, even if the first acronym has a negative connotation while the second does not. In fact, those affected by “Nimby syndrome” are interpreted as the refusal by few inhabitants to pay the necessary costs (in terms of pollution, security, etc.) to attain public goods in their territory, but they would be indifferent if such infrastructures were made somewhere else. LULU, the category we prefer to use, is instead a neutral term that registers the opposition to a certain use of territory not accepted by the local population, without assessing a priori motivations and evaluations. Moreover, those residents accused of “nymbism” often respond by building a NOPE (Not On the Planet Earth) discourse, that is affirming not to want disputed works ‘either in their own, nor in any other backyard’ of the Earth, because they are considered damaging for common good. In fact, many of these conflicts are only seemingly parochial/localistic and/or environmentalist: large infrastructures, polluting plants, bases and military installations are considered by the protesting local population not only harmful to the environment and the public health, but also politically, socially and economically. In this paper, we present some findings of a research focused on the way in which the LULU movements against great infrastructures in Italy have framed the issues of corruption and organized crime, with particular reference to the mafia system, and the struggle against them. Even though they may seem minor issues compared to those environmental and citizens’ health, they are present in many territorial and urban struggles, from North to South: also for this, we have chosen to analyze – using documents and semi-structured interviews with key informants – as empirical cases the following territorial movements. The No Tav, against the construction of the high-speed railway in Val di Susa in Piedmont close to the border with France; the No Ponte, against the building of a Bridge between Calabria and Sicily; the No MUOS, which opposes to the construction and operation of a US Navy ground station of satellite communications in Niscemi, Sicily. In particular, in this paper we focus on the impact that the anti-corruption and anti-mafia claims of these Lulu movements have had on the local governance, both in terms of reactions to the mobilizations and public policies implemented by the local institutions and governments. However, taking into account that these great works despite having a local impact have an extra-local dimension, being decided by a national and supranational level of government.