Unfolding Dystopia : Anxiety and Crisis of Credibility in the Italian Public’s Dealing with the Nuclear Decommissioning (1986-1997)

The article examines the failure of Italy’s nuclear energy programme through the lens of the «techno-scientific promise,» highlighting the shift from legitimacy to a crisis of public credibility after the Chernobyl disaster. Initially promoted as a vehicle for industrial growth and regional development, particularly in the underdeveloped South, nuclear power encountered increasing public opposition due to institutional opacity, inconsistent governance, and weak expert-public communication. Through two case studies – Pasquasia and Trisaia – the paper analyses how environmental anxieties, political decentralisation, and media framing transformed nuclear energy from a symbol of modernisation into a dystopian threat. The study underscores how post-Chernobyl «panic» disrupted the alignment between experts and society, leading to policy paralysis and the eventual abandonment of nuclear power. By emphasising credibility over legitimacy, the article proposes a reinterpretation of Italy’s nuclear history that accounts for localised resistance, socio-technical imaginaries, and the erosion of institutional trust in a context of growing anti-political sentiment.