This essay considers the contradictions between a territory-based political approach (referred to as “watershed politics”) and the broader scope of an ethics of environmental culture. My analysis is focused on the case of the Po river, which symbolizes both the unity and fragmentation of Italy: in fact, it is the core of a political struggle between the secessionist bias of a political party, the Northern League, and the claims relating to its culturally and geographically unifying function. I will try to move from a bioregionalist perspective to an inclusive ethics of place, switching from a mere identity approach to an inclusive ethics of landscape. In doing that, I will not adopt the framework of a political scientist, but rather that of an environmental ethicist. Some political and practical aspects will thus be left in the background, in order to stress an ethical and cultural evaluation.
Watershed Politics and Place-Identity: Toward an Inclusive Approach
IOVINO, Serenella
2006-01-01
Abstract
This essay considers the contradictions between a territory-based political approach (referred to as “watershed politics”) and the broader scope of an ethics of environmental culture. My analysis is focused on the case of the Po river, which symbolizes both the unity and fragmentation of Italy: in fact, it is the core of a political struggle between the secessionist bias of a political party, the Northern League, and the claims relating to its culturally and geographically unifying function. I will try to move from a bioregionalist perspective to an inclusive ethics of place, switching from a mere identity approach to an inclusive ethics of landscape. In doing that, I will not adopt the framework of a political scientist, but rather that of an environmental ethicist. Some political and practical aspects will thus be left in the background, in order to stress an ethical and cultural evaluation.
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