Abstract

With the enactment of the so-called Procurement Code in 2016, the Public Debate procedure was introduced in Italy. Clearly modelled on the example of the French participatory and deliberative device of the same name, the Public Debate in Italy takes on dissimilar characteristics from the original, and is characterised by short timeframes, little autonomy, and above all a weak institutionalisation. On several occasions, the Public Debate was reformed, and in 2023, after only two years of full operation, it was essentially abolished amidst the indifference of the media, public opinion, and the main political and social actors. Following a brief reconstruction of the model constituted by the French Débat public, the essay reconstructs the vicissitudes of the Public Debate in Italy, with particular regard to the policy making process and to the network of political, institutional, economic and civic actors that has emerged around its launch and implementation. Through documentary analysis and a campaign of interviews with privileged witnesses, the essay argues that the dismantling of the Public Debate was largely due to the lack of an effective «instrument constituency», which in turn is due to its embedding in the public works policy arena, where the prevailing actors, norms and logics of action marginalise the defence and promotion of the participation of local communities, in stark contrast to what happens in the environmental arena.