ITServices-byAndresRodriguez-PoseLondonSchoolofEconomicsOx

1、by Andrs Rodrguez-PoseLondon School of EconomicsOxford University PressISBN 0-19-874286-XTHE EUROPEAN UNION:ECONOMY, SOCIETY, AND POLITYPart IIIPOLITYChapter 7 Regionalism and regionalizationIntroductionAn important challenge to the European nation-state is emerging from belowRecently most European

2、countries have witnessed a revival of regionalism This revival has triggered processes of regionalization and devolution Centralized states are increasingly becoming the exception to the rule (a Europe of the Regions) Main questions:How and why did the process of regionalization come about?Are we re

3、ally witnessing the emergence of a Europe of the Regions? Regional devolution in EuropeAt the end of the 1960s The great majority of the states in Europe were centralized statesPowerful central administrations Solid and generally small local authorities Regions as mere administrative divisionsAustri

4、a, Germany, and Switzerland (with Yugoslavia on the other side of the Iron Curtain) as the main exceptions to the ruleAt the beginning of the 21st centuryStrong central governments are on the retreat Centralized governments are increasingly confined to relatively small and homogenous states Regional

5、 devolution in Europe (II)Challenges to the centralized state have been widespread in larger and less homogenous statesPartition of former plurinational states: Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Soviet UnionDevolution as a general process in the EUFederal states: power of the central state confined to for

6、eign policy, defence and some macro-economic management (A, B, D)Regional states: Substantial autonomy achieved without a profound restructuring of the state (E, I) Regionalized states: less advanced form of decentralization (F, P, UK)Unitary states: little or no decentralization (Dk, SF, Gr, Irl, L

7、, Nl, S)Regional devolution in Europe (III)There are also differences in the levels of regional autonomy within statesHomogenous level of devolution only in federal states and FranceAsymmetrical devolution in Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the UKHistorical regions or regions with greater identity enjoy

8、 higher levels of autonomy (Italy and Spain)Parts of the country have devolved powers, while others remain under central rule (Portugal and the UK)Level of regional autonomy across the EUFrom regionalism to regionalizationTwo waves of regionalism and regionalization (Keating 1998)1960s and 1970s: De

9、eply rooted in identity issuesLate 1980s and 1990s: the new regionalismMore widespread than in the previous waveMore often based on economic rather than on identity grounds Austria and GermanyFederal states since the second WWFederal structure as a way to weaken the power of the central state and to

10、 prevent the re-emergence of German militarismFrom regionalism to regionalization (II)BelgiumThe country that has undergone the deepest transformation: From unitary to regionalized in 1970 and to federal in 1993Regional division based on the deep linguistic and cultural cleavages that divide the sta

11、teRegional division of power follows two criteria:Language: Three communities (Flemish-speaking, French-speaking and German-speaking communities)Identity: Three regions (Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels)The Flemish Community and Region have merged into one entity Result: a complex territorial struct

12、ure with five territorially overlapping subnational entities From regionalism to regionalization (III)SpainA failed secular nation-building process and repression of regional identities by the Francoist regime fuelled resentment in the peripheral nations of SpainWith the restoration of democracy cam

13、e a process of regional autonomy Asymmetrical devolution process across regions:Highest autonomy in the regions keeping their medieval privileges (fueros): The Basque Country and NavarreHigh autonomy in regions with strong identity: Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia, Valencia, Canary Is.Much lower level

14、 of autonomy in the remaining regions (although the gap has narrowed in recent years)From regionalism to regionalization (IV)ItalyOrigins of the regionalization process can be traced back to imperfect nation-buildingImportant cleavages remainThe Questione Meridionale (question of the South), relativ

15、e underdevelopment of the South of the country Existence of linguistic minorities in peripheral regions1948 Constitution has provided for asymmetrical devolution5 special status regions, with a high level of autonomy (Sicily, Sardinia, Valle dAosta, Trentino, Friuli)15 ordinary status regions, with

16、a much lower level of autonomyOngoing process of federalizationFrom regionalism to regionalization (V)UKRegionalism has basically affected the peripheral nations of the country The union state, created in 1707, has not succeeded in creating a British national identity The first wave of regionalism o

17、f the 1960s and 1970s ended with the rejection of devolution in referendaA second wave has taken place since the arrival of New Labour in 1997Devolution was approved in referenda for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and LondonHowever, asymmetrical level of devolution, with a huge gap between the p

18、owers of the Scottish, at one end, and the London executives, at the otherFrom regionalism to regionalization (VI)FranceWeak decentralization in France more the result of planning than of the strength of regionalist movementsDirect election of Regional Councils from 1986 onwards has granted French r

19、egions greater legitimacyBut level of autonomy well below that of neighbouring countriesNew regionalist wave in the late 1990s and beginning of the 21st centuryDevolution for Corsica on the political agendaThe bastions of centralismSeven of the fifteen Member States of the EU are still centralized c

20、ountriesThese tend to be small and relatively homogenous countriesDevolution debate active in some of these countriesThe Netherlands, where regionalization has always remained in the backgroundPortugal, whose population rejected plans devolve powers to the Portuguese mainland regions in 1998The tran

21、sfer of power from the nation state to the regionsRegionalization has brought about important changes in governance and policy making structures across the EUIncrease of transfers of powers from the centre to regional governments Even the regions with the lowest level of autonomy (i.e. regions in Fr

22、ance) are responsible for a considerable array of policiesThe expansion of regional powers has not always been matched by a similar increase in regional resourcesWith the exception of Spain, the expenditure balance between central and regional and local governments has remained relatively stableShar

23、e of total government expenditure by different tiers of government (1980-97)The transfer of power from the nation state to the regions (II)Recent steps are, however, going in the direction of granting greater resources to regional governments The tax varying powers accorded to the Parliament award t

24、he Scottish executive a significant capacity to raise revenueDuring the 1990s Spanish regions have been granted access to 30 per cent of the income tax revenues generated within their territoryFiscal federalism is advancing in Italy with the introduction of new forms of regional taxationThe roots of

25、 the regionalization processWhat are the factors behind the drive towards devolution in Europe? The revival of nationalism and regionalism across Europe since the 1960sThe sources behind this regeneration where of historic, linguistic, and cultural nature Regions with a strong identity led the way (

26、Catalonia, Basque Country, Scotland, Flanders, Brittany, Sicily)Demands for autonomy were centred around the need to protect and promote regional culture, languages, and identityThe use of economic arguments in the 1990sGlobalization is undermining the capacity of nation states to control economic d

27、evelopment processes within their territoriesThe region is becoming a key actor in a global settingThe roots of the regionalization process (II)Globalization also poses challenges to regions The greater mobility of factors of production is forcing regions to adopt more pro-active development strateg

28、iesRegions and cities are forced to compete with one another for mobile assetsRegional success increasingly depends on the capacity of each region to adopt pro-active policies and to form a complex web of public and private institutionsDevolution is regarded as a way of guaranteeing economic surviva

29、l in an increasingly competitive world Towards a Europe of the regions?It is claimed that transfers of powers to supranational and subnational bodies is contributing to the hollowing out of the nation state Taken to its limits, this implies that the nation state in the European context no longer matters (OBrien, 19992; Ohmae, 1995)Emergence of a Europe of the regionsBut is a Europe of the regions real