The sicilian MUOS ground station conflict: On US geopolitics in the mediterranean and geographies of resistance

This paper analyses the alternative territorialities that characterisethe conflict on the installation of a US military MUOS ground stationin Sicily (Italy). On the one hand, the proponents see territoryfrom a techno-centric vision as a site of strategic importance for theglobal politics of securitisation since it serves the optimisation of theUS military ‘system of systems’. On the other hand, the No-MUOSmobilisation resists this image of territory by claiming it as a placeof everyday life, and opposes hegemonic territorialisation throughthe manipulation of an ensemble of discursive and practical mediatorswithin different spheres of action. The local conflict arounda radar infrastructure evolves into a clash between different logicsof territorial organisation: a conflict mostly concerning the controlover spatial borders, knowledge production, and imaginary circulation.