Suchergebnisse

In this article, we focus on the way in which the LULU (Locally Unwanted Land Use) movements against great infrastructures have framed the issues of corruption and organized crime in Italy, with particular reference to the mafia system, and the struggle against them. Even though they may seem minor issues, they are present in many territorial struggles, from North to South: indeed, we have chosen to analyse – using documents and semi-structured interviews with key informants – as empirical cases the No Tav, No Bridge and No Muos movements. Considering the frame analysis of the activists we have found the same mechanisms of frame bridging, which connect corruption and mafia with other issues in the movements, and frame extension from the particular cases to the general issues. Moreover, the corrupt and mafia systems outlined by the Lulu activists merge into a unique "corrupt-mafia system" that produces unwanted public works. Indeed, we have defined the Lulu movements as territorial movements carrying on 'anti-system' struggles, because, while contrasting specific large-scale infrastructures and military bases, they struggle against the system that have created them and to which they belong.

The progress achieved in women's rights and gender equality has become the target of a backlash driven by "anti-gender" activists and right-wing populists across EU member states. To a large extent, this conflict takes place in the digital and social media spheres, illustrating the new mediatized logic of value contestation. Therefore, we ask to what extent are the debates about gender equality on Twitter similar in three European countries, and how do users engage in these debates? We examine these questions by collecting Twitter data around the 2021 International Women's Day in Germany, Italy, and Poland. First, we show that the debate remains nationally segmented and is predominantly supportive of gender equality. While citizens engage with the gender equality value online, they do so in a prevailingly acclamatory fashion. In contrast, political and societal actors show higher levels of engagement with the value and receive more interactions on Twitter. Our study highlights the relevance of national contexts to the analysis of (transnational) social media debates and the limited political engagement of citizens on Twitter across Europe. We also critically discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a cross-country social media comparison.