Territorial Conflicts: Six Interpretations Conflitti territoriali: sei interpretazioni

In contemporary societies, territorial conflicts, i.e. conflicts concerning unwelcome facilities or LULU (Locally Unwanted Land Use), tend to be more frequent and widespread than social conflicts. These conflicts are characterized by the protest of local communities that fight for the defence of their land from external aggressions, such as invasive artefacts (motorways, high speed lines, waste disposal plants, etc.) or human settlements (Roma camps, mosques, immigrants, etc.). This article aims to answer to three questions: 1) why these conflicts have increased in last decades? 2) what is their real stake? 3) how can be dealt with and with which possible outcomes? There is no single answer to these questions. If we take into consideration the discourses that are made on this issue, six types of narratives emerge that go in different directions. The territorial conflicts are seen, from time to time. (a) as the expression of particularistic and egoistic points of view that prevent the fulfilment of the general interest, (b) as the pressure of vested interests that exploit to the fear of the population for other purposes; (c ) as the consequence of the imbalance between concentrated costs and distributed benefits; (d) as a reaction to risks that are deemed unacceptable; (e) as the resistance of the places against the flows that invade or cross them; (f) as a demand for a different model of development. The conclusion is that such conflicts are multi-faceted phenomena. If we pay attention - as the current debate often do - only on one of these several dimensions, we risk to content ourselves with a simplified and, thereby, distorted interpretation. Nelle società contemporanee i conflitti territoriali sono ormai diventati più frequenti e diffusi dei conflitti sociali. Il loro tratto caratteristico è costituito da comunità che difendono il loro territorio da aggressioni esterne che possono essere costituite tanto da manufatti invasivi, quanto da insediamenti umani sgraditi. Questo articolo si propone di rispondere a tre domande: 1) perché si sono diffusi in questi ultimi venti anni? 2) qual è il “vero” oggetto del contendere? 3) come possono essere affrontati, con quali possibili sbocchi? Non esiste una risposta univoca a queste domande. Analizzando i discorsi che circolano su questo tema, emergono sei tipi di risposte che giungono a risultati diversi. I conflitti territoriali vengono infatti visti di volta in volta (a) come manifestazioni particolaristiche che impediscono il soddisfacimento di interessi generali, (b) come l’effetto di attori interessat