| Abstract [eng] |
This thesis examines local resistances to land-use projects in Lithuania from the perspective of political participation. Local resistances are conceptualised based on the theory of agonistic pluralism (Ch. Mouffe) and justification theory (L. Boltanski and L. Thevenot). Recent cases of local resistances to land-use projects in Lithuania are overviewed, and selected for in-depth analysis, which is carried out using the justification analysis method. The results show that the dominant order of worth in all of the resistances is civic worth - local communities construct themselves as a unit of power, challenging the governmental institutions, either by denying their authority altogether, emphasizing the power of the community, or by seeking to reverse their decisions through legal procedures. Importantly, this conflict with the authorities cannot be described as purely anti-establishment action; it is a conflict over the other values that emerge in the justifications of the resistances (the green values, placing importance on nature and the environment, and the domestic values, arguing for social stability). Thus, it can be argued that the local resistances to land-use projects seek to overthrow the dominant notion of worth, to change the value criteria on which the authorities base their decisions. |
