Owing to globalization processes, the nation-state is facing the problem of re-examining its ability to create & maintain order through legislation & law enforcement, as well as its capacity to direct the economy in line with citizens' choices. The use of globalized economic & juridical patterns by private individuals is a great leap forward in economics & personal freedom, considering that the state is continuously loosing its monitoring & checking ability. At the same time, these individuals still live within the framework of the state & also acknowledge its power. Ironically, while trying to sidestep the state, the citizens still look to it to solve their everyday problems. The author investigates the reasons behind the crisis into which a specific model of state -- the Kelsenian & Keynesianan model -- has fallen in recent years. Nevertheless, the crisis of that model does not imply the loss of the possibility of managing the economy & globalization processes. The nation-state remains the most important producer of a great many services & its role in promoting advancements in knowledge & technological innovation is still a central one. One of the most important roles of the nation-state in the global era is that of removing the barriers to the global economy & pursuing the efficiency & innovation of its infrastructures & bureaucratic machinery. In the light of global changes, it is important to rethink the idea that the production of law & institutions can only be legitimated by ballots, or at least that voting always represents the best solution. Other kinds of legitimating processes should instead be considered by contemporary political theory -- for example, considering how people make their political choices like consumers in the free market. Adapted from the source document.
Italian government recently restated its achievement of following with the process of realizing the Messina Strait Bridge (Ponte sullo Stretto) within the investments program for stimulating new growth. Actually because of the economic and financial budget crisis the same Office cut all the national funds at least in the short run till the year 2013. At the same time EU deleted the project from TEN (Trans European Network) agenda. Despite of national government statements, the real destiny of the program is very uncertain. Even because critical studies and assessments strongly increased in the latest years. The essay recalls the history of the project: the first idea was born sat the beginning of Italian national State unity after 1861, but the Myth of rejoining Sicily and continental Italy became an achievable program only after second world war. In 1971 the State issued a national Act for promoting the agenda and the Agency in charge of projecting and building the Messina Strait Bridge. In 1981 the agency was completely organized and named as "Stretto di Messina" Society, that later became "Stretto di Messina Ltd". Several project proposals were advanced by engineers and corporations: eventually through an international technical selection the general shape of the bridge was designed. Over time the strong decrease of land traffic toward Sicily in front of dramatic increase of air passenger travels and sea good flows made the project of the bridge almost useless. Indeed at the middle of 1980's the Italian government was writing the project off. But the never ending story went on. Actually in the recent years, the right parties government reset the Big Works Growth Policies and issued the a national act for promoting and accelerating operations among which the Messina Strait Bridge Program was considered one of the most important. So, in 1992 the first edition of Preliminary Project was introduced: strong critics pushed the Agency to retire and fix the project production: because of that, there was a long debate that ended in 2002 with the new shape of the preliminary project. The final version of the preliminary project was defined in 2005, after further observations and critics by scientists, scholars, environmentalists and overall technicians offices of the several involved Italian Ministers. Today, at the end of 2011 the definitive not-operative project has been finally introduced. The article emphasizes the environmental and territorial impacts of the project and also it underlines its weakness in terms of economics, transportation and land planning, by asking the meaning of building a mega infrastructure for land linkages between Europe and Sicily today, in the age of beautiful landscape and hi-tech. ; Il governo ha ribadito la volontà di proseguire con il progetto del ponte sullo Stretto di Messina, all'interno del quadro di investimenti tesi ad accelerare la ripresa economica; ha tuttavia azzerato le risorse disponibili per l'operazione, tradendo forse la vera natura dell'enunciazione suddetta: quella della reiterazione-sempre piùstanca e senza convinzione- di una declaratoria ormai rituale quanto improbabile. L'Unione Europea, dal canto suo, ha definitivamente cancellato l'opera dalla lista delle infrastrutture considerate prioritarie e quindi finanziabili con risorse comunitarie. Nonostante le posizioni governative ufficiali, vista anche la crescente opposizione e le critiche di diversi ambiti politici, sociali e scientifici, secondo cui l'attraversamento dello Stretto dovrebbe essere cancellato, l'operazione appare tuttora quanto mai incerta. L'articolo ricostruisce le vicende relative al progetto del ponte, dall'originario dibattito post-unitario sulla necessità di un collegamento stabile tra la Sicilia ed il Continente, alla redazione delle prime ipotesi di piano nel secondo dopoguerra, all'idea di "area metropolitana dello Stretto e conurbazione del ponte" contenuta nel progetto '80, alle posizioni critiche che, rispetto a tali concetti, sono maturate negli studi relativi alle più recenti versioni del progetto. Nella seconda parte si descrivono gli elementi principali del "progetto di attraversamento aereo dello Stretto di Messina" presentato dalla società dello Stretto al governo il 31/12/02 (progetto preliminare, che ha registrato il parere positivo con prescrizioni del CIPE nel 2005), di cui è stata di recente presentata la versione "definitiva"; e ancora note tratte dalle "Osservazioni sullo studio di impatto ambientale", avanzate per conto di Legambiente, WWF, Italia Nostra e di altre associazioni ambientaliste, da un gruppo di studio coordinato dall'autore delle note presenti, riassumendo anche recenti lavori di aggiornamento (Bettini, Guerzoni, Ziparo, 2002; Pieroni, 2000; Pieroni, Ziparo, 2010; Marino, 2011).
Italian government recently restated its achievement of following with the process of realizing the Messina Strait Bridge (Ponte sullo Stretto) within the investments program for stimulating new growth. Actually because of the economic and financial budget crisis the same Office cut all the national funds at least in the short run till the year 2013. At the same time EU deleted the project from TEN (Trans European Network) agenda. Despite of national government statements, the real destiny of the program is very uncertain. Even because critical studies and assessments strongly increased in the latest years. The essay recalls the history of the project: the first idea was born sat the beginning of Italian national State unity after 1861, but the Myth of rejoining Sicily and continental Italy became an achievable program only after second world war. In 1971 the State issued a national Act for promoting the agenda and the Agency in charge of projecting and building the Messina Strait Bridge. In 1981 the agency was completely organized and named as "Stretto di Messina" Society, that later became "Stretto di Messina Ltd". Several project proposals were advanced by engineers and corporations: eventually through an international technical selection the general shape of the bridge was designed. Over time the strong decrease of land traffic toward Sicily in front of dramatic increase of air passenger travels and sea good flows made the project of the bridge almost useless. Indeed at the middle of 1980's the Italian government was writing the project off. But the never ending story went on. Actually in the recent years, the right parties government reset the Big Works Growth Policies and issued the a national act for promoting and accelerating operations among which the Messina Strait Bridge Program was considered one of the most important. So, in 1992 the first edition of Preliminary Project was introduced: strong critics pushed the Agency to retire and fix the project production: because of that, there was a long debate that ended in 2002 with the new shape of the preliminary project. The final version of the preliminary project was defined in 2005, after further observations and critics by scientists, scholars, environmentalists and overall technicians offices of the several involved Italian Ministers. Today, at the end of 2011 the definitive not-operative project has been finally introduced. The article emphasizes the environmental and territorial impacts of the project and also it underlines its weakness in terms of economics, transportation and land planning, by asking the meaning of building a mega infrastructure for land linkages between Europe and Sicily today, in the age of beautiful landscape and hi-tech. ; Il governo ha ribadito la volontà di proseguire con il progetto del ponte sullo Stretto di Messina, all'interno del quadro di investimenti tesi ad accelerare la ripresa economica; ha tuttavia azzerato le risorse disponibili per l'operazione, tradendo forse la vera natura dell'enunciazione suddetta: quella della reiterazione-sempre piùstanca e senza convinzione- di una declaratoria ormai rituale quanto improbabile. L'Unione Europea, dal canto suo, ha definitivamente cancellato l'opera dalla lista delle infrastrutture considerate prioritarie e quindi finanziabili con risorse comunitarie. Nonostante le posizioni governative ufficiali, vista anche la crescente opposizione e le critiche di diversi ambiti politici, sociali e scientifici, secondo cui l'attraversamento dello Stretto dovrebbe essere cancellato, l'operazione appare tuttora quanto mai incerta. L'articolo ricostruisce le vicende relative al progetto del ponte, dall'originario dibattito post-unitario sulla necessità di un collegamento stabile tra la Sicilia ed il Continente, alla redazione delle prime ipotesi di piano nel secondo dopoguerra, all'idea di "area metropolitana dello Stretto e conurbazione del ponte" contenuta nel progetto '80, alle posizioni critiche che, rispetto a tali concetti, sono maturate negli studi relativi alle più recenti versioni del progetto. Nella seconda parte si descrivono gli elementi principali del "progetto di attraversamento aereo dello Stretto di Messina" presentato dalla società dello Stretto al governo il 31/12/02 (progetto preliminare, che ha registrato il parere positivo con prescrizioni del CIPE nel 2005), di cui è stata di recente presentata la versione "definitiva"; e ancora note tratte dalle "Osservazioni sullo studio di impatto ambientale", avanzate per conto di Legambiente, WWF, Italia Nostra e di altre associazioni ambientaliste, da un gruppo di studio coordinato dall'autore delle note presenti, riassumendo anche recenti lavori di aggiornamento (Bettini, Guerzoni, Ziparo, 2002; Pieroni, 2000; Pieroni, Ziparo, 2010; Marino, 2011).
