Politics, conflict and “political” community: The case of Bologna

Abstract

In the framework of critical geographies post-politics theory has discussed the depoliticization of politics, technocratic urban governance and the nature of the political as a heterogeneous radical space of disagreement and solidarity. However, the concept of community in relation to post-politics and, in particular, the political requires further exploration. Building on Roberto Esposito's conceptualization of communitas, our article contributes to the theoretical reflection on political community by exploring the evolution of conflicting relations between institutional politics and urban struggles in Bologna, Italy. The findings discuss the fragmentation of the local political community due to the neutralization of dissent together with divergent and exclusive political stances unable to advance a shared front to challenge political mechanisms. In relation to this fragmentation, we reflect on the nature of socio-environmental struggles as a possible move to build a political community to advance new ontologies in the direction of environmental and climate justice.