Legal and Lethal : Lawfare and Legal Mobilization in the Conflict over the Steel Plant of Taranto, Italy
(2026) In Lund Studies in Sociology of Law- Abstract
- This study examines the conflict in Taranto, a city in Southern Italy that has hosted one of Europe’s largest steel plants, Ilva, since the 1960s. Over the decades, Ilva has reshaped Taranto’s socioeconomic and environmental landscape, causing severe pollution that epidemiological studies have linked to excess mortality and morbidity. This crisis has led to a conflict fought also through legal means: while the Italian government used law to protect its politico‑economic interests tied to Ilva, broad segments of the local population mobilized to demand emission cuts and the stop of production. These campaigns took place both outside formal institutions and in domestic and European courts, often achieving important legal victories – though... (More)
- This study examines the conflict in Taranto, a city in Southern Italy that has hosted one of Europe’s largest steel plants, Ilva, since the 1960s. Over the decades, Ilva has reshaped Taranto’s socioeconomic and environmental landscape, causing severe pollution that epidemiological studies have linked to excess mortality and morbidity. This crisis has led to a conflict fought also through legal means: while the Italian government used law to protect its politico‑economic interests tied to Ilva, broad segments of the local population mobilized to demand emission cuts and the stop of production. These campaigns took place both outside formal institutions and in domestic and European courts, often achieving important legal victories – though the government repeatedly limited or reversed their effects. The thesis traces the
conflict’s evolution from Ilva’s establishment, focusing on the early phases (1960s-1970s) and its most recent developments (1990s-present). The material for the study was collected over four months of fieldwork in Taranto and from online databases of relevant institutions. The analysis draws on lawfare and legal mobilization theory, combined with concepts from environmental justice literature, and is situated against the historical process through which Southern Italy came to be constructed as a “question” during Italy’s state formation. The thesis argues that the Ilva conflict
exemplifies the contradictions generated by state efforts to “solve” the “southern question”, which led Ilva to acquire a central position within Italy’s steel economy. The thesis introduces several typologies of lawfare – understood here as the use of law by institutions in societal conflicts – including dominative, emancipatory, formalistic, lawmaking, and symbolic lawfare. It shows how lawfare has constrained legal mobilization in the Ilva case, narrowing its scope or undoing its achievements. In this sense, the thesis contributes to both lawfare scholarship and European legal
mobilization studies. To the former, it offers new typologies to analyze institutional uses of law in societal conflicts, and it examines how lawfare interacts with the rule of law, shedding light on how institutions can, through law, engage in nondemocratic practices to advance their interests in a conflict. To European legal mobilization scholarship, it contributes by problematizing the possibilities of pursuing social change through institutional channels in the European context. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Denna studie undersöker konflikten i Taranto, en stad i södra Italien som sedan 1960 talet har hyst ett av Europas största stålverk, Ilva. Under årtiondenas lopp har Ilva omformat Tarantos socioekonomiska och miljömässiga landskap och orsakat allvarlig förorening, som epidemiologiska studier har kopplat till överdödlighet och ökad sjuklighet. Denna kris har lett till en konflikt som också har utkämpats med juridiska medel: medan den italienska staten använde lagen för att skydda sina politisk ekonomiska intressen knutna till Ilva, mobiliserade breda delar av lokalbefolkningen för att kräva minskade utsläpp och ett stopp för produktionen. Dessa kampanjer ägde rum både utanför formella institutioner och i nationella och europeiska domstolar,... (More)
- Denna studie undersöker konflikten i Taranto, en stad i södra Italien som sedan 1960 talet har hyst ett av Europas största stålverk, Ilva. Under årtiondenas lopp har Ilva omformat Tarantos socioekonomiska och miljömässiga landskap och orsakat allvarlig förorening, som epidemiologiska studier har kopplat till överdödlighet och ökad sjuklighet. Denna kris har lett till en konflikt som också har utkämpats med juridiska medel: medan den italienska staten använde lagen för att skydda sina politisk ekonomiska intressen knutna till Ilva, mobiliserade breda delar av lokalbefolkningen för att kräva minskade utsläpp och ett stopp för produktionen. Dessa kampanjer ägde rum både utanför formella institutioner och i nationella och europeiska domstolar, och ledde ofta till betydande juridiska segrar – även om staten upprepade gånger begränsade eller upphävde deras effekter. Avhandlingen följer konfliktens utveckling från Ilvas etablering och fokuserar på de tidiga faserna (1960 och 1970 talen) samt på de mest aktuella utvecklingarna (1990 talet till idag). Materialet för studien samlades in under fyra månaders fältarbete i Taranto och från relevanta institutioners nätbaserade databaser. Analysen bygger på teorier om lawfare (avsett som användningen av lagen som ett vapen av institutioner i en samhällelig konflikt) och juridisk mobilisering, kombinerat med begrepp från litteraturen om miljörättvisa, och är situerad inom den historiska process genom vilken södra Italien konstruerades som en ”fråga” under den italienska statens uppförande. Avhandlingen argumenterar för att Ilva konflikten exemplifierar de motsättningar som skapats av statens försök att ”lösa” den ”sydliga frågan”, vilket ledde till att Ilva fick en central position inom Italiens stålindustri. Avhandlingen introducerar flera typologier av lawfare – inklusive dominerande, emancipatorisk, formalistisk, lagstiftande och symbolisk lawfare – och visar hur lawfare har begränsat den juridiska mobiliseringen i Ilva fallet genom att snäva in dess räckvidd eller omintetgöra dess resultat. I detta avseende bidrar avhandlingen både till forskningen om lawfare och till europeiska studier av juridisk mobilisering. Till den förstnämnda bidrar den genom att erbjuda nya typologier för att analysera institutionella användningar av lagen i samhälleliga konflikter samt genom att undersöka hur lawfare samspelar med rättsstatsprincipen och därigenom belysa hur institutioner genom lagen kan ägna sig åt icke demokratiska praktiker för att främja sina intressen i en konflikt. Till forskningen om juridisk mobilisering i Europa bidrar avhandlingen genom att problematisera möjligheterna att uppnå social förändring via institutionella kanaler i den europeiska kontexten. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/33e07acb-a8da-4640-8e88-1039c4c0bd1d
- author
- Nicoli Aldini, Carlo LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Gloppen, Siri, University of Bergen
- organization
- alternative title
- Lagligt och Dödligt : Lawfare och Juridisk Mobilisering i Konflikten kring Stålverket i Taranto, Italien
- publishing date
- 2026-04
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- lawfare, legal mobilization, European legal mobilization, rule of law, law and social change, Taranto, Italy, southern question, environmental violence, environmental injustice
- in
- Lund Studies in Sociology of Law
- pages
- 224 pages
- publisher
- Department of Sociology of Law, Lund University
- defense location
- LUX aula (nedre), Helgonavägen 3, Lund
- defense date
- 2026-05-22 09:00:00
- ISSN
- 1403-7246
- ISBN
- 978-91-8104-898-8
- 978-91-8104-899-5
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 33e07acb-a8da-4640-8e88-1039c4c0bd1d
- date added to LUP
- 2026-04-20 15:19:48
- date last changed
- 2026-04-24 08:31:40
@phdthesis{33e07acb-a8da-4640-8e88-1039c4c0bd1d,
abstract = {{This study examines the conflict in Taranto, a city in Southern Italy that has hosted one of Europe’s largest steel plants, Ilva, since the 1960s. Over the decades, Ilva has reshaped Taranto’s socioeconomic and environmental landscape, causing severe pollution that epidemiological studies have linked to excess mortality and morbidity. This crisis has led to a conflict fought also through legal means: while the Italian government used law to protect its politico‑economic interests tied to Ilva, broad segments of the local population mobilized to demand emission cuts and the stop of production. These campaigns took place both outside formal institutions and in domestic and European courts, often achieving important legal victories – though the government repeatedly limited or reversed their effects. The thesis traces the<br/>conflict’s evolution from Ilva’s establishment, focusing on the early phases (1960s-1970s) and its most recent developments (1990s-present). The material for the study was collected over four months of fieldwork in Taranto and from online databases of relevant institutions. The analysis draws on lawfare and legal mobilization theory, combined with concepts from environmental justice literature, and is situated against the historical process through which Southern Italy came to be constructed as a “question” during Italy’s state formation. The thesis argues that the Ilva conflict<br/>exemplifies the contradictions generated by state efforts to “solve” the “southern question”, which led Ilva to acquire a central position within Italy’s steel economy. The thesis introduces several typologies of lawfare – understood here as the use of law by institutions in societal conflicts – including dominative, emancipatory, formalistic, lawmaking, and symbolic lawfare. It shows how lawfare has constrained legal mobilization in the Ilva case, narrowing its scope or undoing its achievements. In this sense, the thesis contributes to both lawfare scholarship and European legal<br/>mobilization studies. To the former, it offers new typologies to analyze institutional uses of law in societal conflicts, and it examines how lawfare interacts with the rule of law, shedding light on how institutions can, through law, engage in nondemocratic practices to advance their interests in a conflict. To European legal mobilization scholarship, it contributes by problematizing the possibilities of pursuing social change through institutional channels in the European context.}},
author = {{Nicoli Aldini, Carlo}},
isbn = {{978-91-8104-898-8}},
issn = {{1403-7246}},
keywords = {{lawfare; legal mobilization; European legal mobilization; rule of law; law and social change; Taranto, Italy; southern question; environmental violence; environmental injustice}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Department of Sociology of Law, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Studies in Sociology of Law}},
title = {{Legal and Lethal : Lawfare and Legal Mobilization in the Conflict over the Steel Plant of Taranto, Italy}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/248017841/Thesis_Carlo_NA.pdf}},
year = {{2026}},
}