PhD Defence in Sociology of Law: Carlo Nicoli Aldini

Legal and lethal

Lawfare, legal mobilization, and environmental injustice in Taranto, Italy

Carlo Nicoli Aldini is interested in understanding the role of law as an instrument of domination and as a means of resistance. In his thesis, he explores the role of law in the environmental conflict in Taranto, a city in southern Italy that hosts the largest steel factory in Europe - a facility that has caused a public health crisis for decades. Law has been a pivotal instrument in the evolution of this crisis: institutions have used it to enable the factory’s operations, while large segments of the local population have resorted to it to push for the factory’s closure. Carlo’s analysis situates the conflict in Taranto within the broader historical process of Italy’s state formation, particularly focusing on the ideological and material consequences of framing southern Italy as a ‘question.' More generally, Carlo’s research contributes to our understanding of the role of law in environmental conflicts.

External discussant

Professor Siri Gloppen, University of Bergen