Insularità e statualità: aporie di un rapporto evocativo

Insularity and statehood: aporias of an evocative relationship

Abstract

The concepts of insularity and statehood offer, put side by side, a profoundly evocative relationship. The idea of an island as a territorial area surrounded by the sea, may represents the archetype of a community of people that, separated from the others by natural barriers placed to protect it, lives by its own rules. On this idea, modern constitutionalism has shaped the concept of the State. This perception also seems able to resist the crisis of the state brought about by the globalisation process. Within this framework, starting from the traditional tripartite definition of the elements of the State, the present paper critically assesses whether this seemingly tight link between the concepts of insularity and statehood proves to be effective in contemporary political experiences. To this end, the analysis starts by defining the field of the investigation; then it will offer an examination of the particular connotation of the people in insular cases. Third, the analysis shall focus on the political significance of the territorial element and, finally, on the peculiarity of the constitutional regime of insular communities.