La non-violenza di Lanza del Vasto e dell'Arca: spunti filosofici, socio-politici e giuridici per percorsi di pedagogia interculturale

Goals • Retracing the biography of Lanza del Vasto (1901-1981) and the history of the Ark; • Examining the broad and deep philosophy of the author; • Assessing non-violence in Vedic, Upaniṣadic and Jain visions, as well as in Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave and Satish Kumar; • Exposing a contemporary paradigm of non-violence under a triple juridical, negotiating and communicative lens; • Offering an overview of pedagogical approach within the Ark; • Comparing the thought of Lanza del Vasto and the Ark with spiritually oriented non-violent anarchisms. Mathodology This research has been carried out during three years of bibliographic and ethnographic research, including readings, translations, selections, summaries, comparisons, reformulations, revisions of hundreds of books, essays, magazines, articles in Italian, English, French and Spanish, found in Italy, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom during three periods of fieldwork abroad. The methodological posture has been generally (self)critical, reflective and interpretative. The interconnection between reflection and research underlying this thesis, which stemming from a biographical and intellectual reconstruction deals with multiple speculative and practical implications concerning the broad topic of non-violence, follows both a deductive approach and an inductive one. Therefore, the research has been empirical, with the 'naturalist' care to minimize the artificial means for collecting data and testimonies; longitudinal, attentive to changes over a prolonged period of time; trans-cultural and comparative, focused on the examination of different case-studies. Results and impact Giuseppe Giovanni Lanza del Vasto, direct disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, has been one of the most prominent and prolific thinkers, authors and living witnesses of non-violence in the 20th century. As an insightful critic of violent structures (state, capitalism, authoritarian socialism) and a mentor for thousands of women and men from all around the world, affiliated with the Ark since late forties, Shantidas, ‘servant of peace’ as Gandhi named him, can be considered a pioneering figure for contemporary reflections, discourses and practices connecting the galaxy of non-violence with anarchism, deep ecology, yogic-ecumenical spirituality and decoloniality. His ‘Gandhian tribe’ has never lived entrenched in its strongholds, locked up in private happiness, oblivious to social struggles: its non-violent campaigns, actions and initiatives have rather been key milestones in the history of non-violence in the West, worthy of consideration for all those scholars and activists who engage themselves in struggles for justice, freedom and peace. Therefore, this thesis also examines the complexity of non-violence and its implications from socio-political historical, pedagogical, juridical and economic perspectives, suggesting many paths for debates and experimentations. Interviews to key protagonists, relevant analysis and unpublished translations are also included.