Presentation

This seminar presents the results of the research project that had as main objective to study the political work carried out, from local to transnational levels, to normalize extreme events or permanent hazardous situations. Empirically, the project compared a Portuguese village, the Urgeiriça (Canas de Senhorim) with the French region of Limousin, France, which share the existence of deactivated uranium mines, subject to environmental rehabilitation. In addition, the project also examined the social, political and symbolic impact of the heat waves of 2003 in Portugal and France, two separate cases, on the basis of which was conducted a more general reflection on the role and pervasiveness of national states and international institutions in the regulation of extreme events and permanent dangerous situations, and how they pose a special challenge to the notions of democracy, citizenship and public sphere.