Wild Wind, Social Storm: “Energy Populism” in Rural Areas? An Exploratory Analysis of France and Italy

The literature has often used the term “populism” as a sensitizing concept to inquire the increasing relevance of right-wing political organizations in Western countries, specifically in rural areas and marginalized territories (e.g., deindustrialized districts). The spread of populism appears as a consequence of the multidimensional failure of globalized neoliberal capitalist promises of prosperity. In this frame, the current climate agenda is challenged because it is perceived as a source of socio-territorial marginalization and depletion. Local oppositions against green facilities in rural areas and right-populist political forces seem to converge in a common discursive frame. The paper proposes some considerations on the “energy populism” by exploring the phenomenon in France (in Occitanie) and Italy (in Basilicata). The comparison allows us to discuss and problematize the possible links between the reception of renewable policies in rural areas and the attempt of populist movements to become spokesmen for local resistance. The main hypothesis is that the sense of dispossession and non-involvement perceived by the rural population on renewables finds in the populist rhetoric a coherent and effective discursive framework to represent their issues. However, research suggests that the link between local opposition to renewables and populist organizations is weak and instrumental.