Abstract
In November 2003, a revolt that shook a wide segment of Southern Italy took place in response to a government decree providing for the creation of a consolidated national nuclear waste dump in the township of Scanzano Jonico. The revolt – ultimately successful in getting the name of Scanzano struck from the decree – was hailed for its striking civicness and for cutting through all lines of difference in drawing the local population together, so much so that it has been subsequently been evoked as a «model» for a number of other protests. This article examines the government’s policy approach and the local resistance. Crucially – as Vike (1997) has pointed out in his discussion of the «moral economy» of resistance – locals were able to stand on higher moral ground by recasting the definition of «common good» and critiquing the government in terms of democratic procedures.