The moral basis of a forward society: Relations and forms of localism in Italy

Abstract

The article deals with different manifestations of localism in Italy. The beginning of research on localism, with the exclusion of older backward community studies, can be dated to the 1980s. It has three main areas of meaning: as the space directly controlled by the senses; as the source of a special economic development; as the desirable level of governance. However, all these perspectives neglect the importance of relations and their spatial form. This is compensated with the assembly of a framework of local places based on the length and symmetry of relations; an operation which yields four types of locale: island, ghetto, periphery and network. The article uses this framework to analyse manifestations of localism in Italy. These are industrial districts, midstream regional federalism, and the rise of the Northern League party. Political mobilisation is considered to be the final and most inclusive dimension of localism. Such mobilisation signals a forward local society no longer based on amoral familism.