Identità e migrazioni nell'Adriatico: due possibili chiavi di lettura

This work addresses the question of how it is possible to think of development in a frontier territory. A frontier territory is not only a border area but it is a place historically shaped by the institutionally unorganized coexistence of religious, ethnic and linguistic bondages in context of extreme periphery, that is to say great distance from the political centers. The Adriatic region, with special reference to the Eastern Adriatic, represents a classical example. Here the usual approaches to development based on market or state-oriented seem to fail; institution-building generally brings about antagonisms and stable organization of political communities appears like a faraway goal. At the same time, local identities are powerful and relevant social capitals can be found throughout the region. Accordingly, the article proposes two key-concepts that would allow a brighter interpretation of the problems and the opportunities of development in the Eastern Adriatic. The first one is the theme of “identity”, that is to say the way social identities are institutionalized and denied. The second one, strictly connected with the first, is the theme of “migrations”, which is at the base of never ending disputes and clashes. The reason is the link between the topic of political legitimacy and the histories of reciprocal oppression and domination that even today fuel the regional antagonism.[...]