Conflits de proximité et rapport(s) au(x) droit(s)

Abstract

The law plays an important role in land-use conflicts that mobilize people against projects close to their neighborhoods (“proximity conflicts”), not only as a resource but also as a cognitive framework. It is true that the law creates opportunities for bringing controversies to the judiciary, as a growing proportion of those controversies end up in litigation. But even outside the courtroom the law provides argumentative resources to social actors, contributes to organize their expectations, and defines their positions. All this can be seen in the different ways legal devices are brought in by social actors. This article elaborates on these issues from the results of several international research projects on proximity conflicts and suggests hypotheses on how to interpret the place of law in the social productivity of those conflicts.

Keywords

• law
• proximity conflicts
• land use conflicts
• legal classification of space
• litigation