Showing papers in "Regional & Federal Studies in 2006"
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of Belgian regionalist parties (VU, FDF and RW) is presented, showing that the success of these parties turned all favourable indicators red, leading to the decline and extinction of the three parties.
Abstract: This paper tackles the question of regionalist parties, a quite underdeveloped aspect of the literature, even if the phenomenon is of increasing importance in European democracies. In that sense, Belgian regionalist parties (VU, FDF and RW) are an interesting case study. They recorded significant success in the 1960s–1970s. Yet, three decades later, they disappeared or declined severely. This paper shows how this ‘Icarus’ fate' is explained by the fact that Belgian regionalist parties were victims of their own success. After having demonstrated the incomplete and indirect success of these parties using Harmel's dimensions, this study demonstrates how this success turned all favourable indicators red, leading to the decline and extinction of the three regionalist parties.
49 citations
TL;DR: In the Czech Republic, the role of new regional authorities was often undermined by the centralized nature of the accession process itself as discussed by the authors, leading to increased political importance of the new regions and changes in partisan attitudes about regionalization.
Abstract: EU accession has had an ambiguous impact on regionalization in the Czech Republic. While EU membership necessitated the creation of regional administrative structures to manage the Structural Funds, the role of new regional authorities was often undermined by the centralized nature of the accession process itself. Developments since accession have created a new dynamic in the debate over regional policy and regionalization in the Czech Republic, however. Most significant are the increased political importance of the new regions and changes in partisan attitudes about regionalization. The impact of these developments is evident in the debate over regional policy planning for 2007–2103. Thus, despite its limited initial impact, EU accession has created the structural potential for increased regionalization in the Czech Republic which has been actualized by the changing constellation of political forces and altered preferences of key political actors in the country.
44 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the means used to address blurred or shifting boundaries between reserved UK and devolved Scottish policy and outlines the main issues of multi-level governance and intergovernmental relations in Scotland and the initial problems faced in identifying responsibility for policy action.
Abstract: This article examines the means used to address blurred or shifting boundaries between reserved UK and devolved Scottish policy. It outlines the main issues of multi-level governance and intergovernmental relations in Scotland and the initial problems faced in identifying responsibility for policy action. While it suggests that legislative ambiguities are now mainly resolved with the use of ‘Sewel motions’, it highlights cases of Scottish action in reserved areas, including the example of smoking policy in which the Scottish Executive appears to ‘commandeer’ a previously reserved issue. However, most examples of new Scottish influence suggest the need for UK support or minimal UK interest.
43 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the preferences of the German Lander, a group of subnational actors in the EU, and find generalizable characteristics in the relationship between regions or local authorities and the EU which are needed to broaden understanding of the emerging European polity.
Abstract: Theorizing subnational and supranational relationship in the EU has been mired by what can be called the ‘homogeneity assumption’: most analyses firmly, if often only implicitly, presume identical preferences of the various regional actors in an individual member state. As a starting point for analysing regions and local authorities in the EU such a supposition was probably justified and certainly had its merits. Today, however, neglecting intra-national heterogeneity and confining our concepts of regional–supranational exchange to the borders of the nation states seem increasingly problematic. More precisely, not going beyond the country-specific features of subnational authorities may pose a serious obstacle for discovering generalizable characteristics in the relationship between regions or local authorities and the EU which, in turn, would be needed to broaden understanding of the emerging European polity. By analysing the preferences of the German Lander – a group of subnational actors which...
41 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a conceptual framework that includes three dimensions along which the EU might influence sub-national decision-making: by enforcement or invitation, by hampering or improvement, and by obstruction or enabling.
Abstract: This paper explores what is known about the actual impact of the EU on sub-national (local and regional) government. Existing research on the impact of the EU on sub-national authorities appears to have a strong emphasis on the positive effects or the opportunities that emanate from the EU. By contrast, studies on European constraints that limit sub-national autonomy are rather scarce. Moreover, many studies fail to take sub-national government itself as the object of analysis, as a result of which most conclusions are rather hypothetical in nature. Trying to fill the lacunas in the existing literature, the authors present a conceptual framework that includes three dimensions along which the EU might influence sub-national decision-making: by enforcement or invitation, by hampering or improvement, and by obstruction or enabling. A pilot study found that nearly each of these types of influence was present, indicating the conceptual sensitivity and empirical relevance of the three dimensions.
38 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the mode of decision making within federal sub-units affects the organizational patterns of intergovernmental relations through which regional actors engage in cross-jurisdictional co-operation.
Abstract: This article argues that the mode of decision making within federal sub-units affects the organizational patterns of intergovernmental relations (IGR) through which regional actors engage in cross-jurisdictional co-operation. In a nutshell, majoritarian executive-legislative relations tend to weaken the institutionalization of intergovernmental arrangements (IGAs), while power-sharing executive-legislative relations tend to facilitate it. This is, first, because one-party majority cabinets tend to increase ideological differences between the sub-units. Secondly, complete government alternations—which are less likely given coalition or oversized governments—strongly alter actors' interest constellations over time, thereby increasing the costs of maintaining stable intergovernmental structures. Thirdly, the heavy impact of a potential electoral loss induces politicians to shift the blame to the other governments, thereby undermining the potential for cross-boundary co-operation. Finally, autonomy l...
33 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the engagement of civil society organizations in the development of the European Structural Fund Programmes for 2000-2006 in Wales and conclude that the first term of devolution promoted a more inclusive and open policy-making culture.
Abstract: It was anticipated that devolution and the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales would promote partnership, inclusiveness and openness in governance in Wales. Civil society engagement was viewed as crucial to making this new democracy work. Consequently, civil society's engagement with the Assembly is one of the benchmarks against which to assess political and economic developments post-devolution. This article takes advantage of the coincidence between devolution and the development of the European Structural Fund Programmes for 2000–2006 in Wales to examine the engagement of civil society organizations in these programmes, focusing particularly on the West Wales and the Valleys Objective 1 Programme. The article concludes that the first term of devolution promoted a more inclusive and open policy-making culture. However, disparities in the capacities of civil society organizations to engage in the programmes, more executive forms of government and a greater emphasis on the effectiven...
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined some determinants of regional political capacity, as identified in the policy literature, in tandem with a number of economic prospects and the existence of an economic milieu.
Abstract: The debate on the effects of regionalism and European integration on European nation states has been prominent for more than a decade. Regionalization of EU states has not brought with it genuine regional autonomy and regionalism has not emerged as a bottom-up public demand in European regions. It is contended here that to determine the future of regional devolution, whether as a result of bottom-up or top-down processes, the factors at play must be contextualized. This paper examines some determinants of regional political capacity, as identified in the policy literature, in tandem with a number of determinants of economic prospects and the existence of an economic milieu. This is done in a comparative context across 12 regions of the EU. It is suggested that the potential for regionalist pressures to emerge is dependent on regional governance capacity and the relative economic weight of a region.
16 citations
TL;DR: It is now widely accepted that democratic societies have experienced a shift from "government to governance" as discussed by the authors, and such a transformation can be identified in many different states, including transition states.
Abstract: It is now widely accepted that democratic societies have experienced a shift from ‘government to governance’. Such a transformation can be identified in many different states, including ‘transition...
15 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that despite its lack of formal powers over the UK government's conduct in the EU, Holyrood has succeeded in carving out a distinctive role for itself, albeit that this relates primarily to those EU issues that are of interest to the Scottish Parliament.
Abstract: Over time, the influence of parliaments has been called into question and academic studies have tended to portray them as inherently reactive. The net result has arguably been the ‘deparliamentarization’ of contemporary politics. Their limited influence has been further circumscribed by external constraints, including European integration. The situation for regional legislatures is exacerbated further because their executives are usually one step removed from decision making in the EU. Whilst both the multi-level governance and the Europeanization of domestic policy concepts have served to highlight the involvement of regional actors in the EU, questions remain as to the efficacy of regional legislatures over European affairs. Examining the Scottish Parliament, this article argues that despite its lack of formal powers over the UK government's conduct in the EU, Holyrood has succeeded in carving out a distinctive role for itself, albeit that this relates primarily to those EU issues that are of d...
14 citations
TL;DR: The civic engagement agenda in the English regions is one of a number of notable features of the uncertain steps towards English regionalism, which primarily takes place through Regional Chambers/Assemblies, which are evolving increasingly sophisticated quasi-democratic representative methods to select individuals to represent sectors of civil society as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The civic engagement agenda in the English regions is one of a number of notable features of the uncertain steps towards English regionalism. It primarily takes place through Regional Chambers/Assemblies, which are evolving increasingly sophisticated quasi-democratic representative methods to select individuals to represent sectors of civil society. These members are now regarded as equals in the regional policy-making process. The manner in which they contribute to policy making is redolent of national-level corporatist experiments in the 1960s and 1970s but arguably is better explained by theories of network governance.
TL;DR: In this article, the results of the 2005 autonomous election in the Basque Country are presented and analyzed at both electoral and institutional level and the main reasons behind the apparent stability of the polarized multiparty system and its ideological basis are discussed.
Abstract: In this paper, we present the facts and results of the 2005 autonomous election in the Basque Country. After a review of the political context and the campaign, we present and analyze the results at electoral and institutional level and the main reasons behind the apparent stability of the polarized multiparty system and its ideological basis. We finally discuss the implications of the results for the political system at Basque and Spanish levels.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the degree to which devolution to Scotland since 1998 has impacted upon the structure of delegated governance and the possible policy implications this may have for other countries.
Abstract: Delegated governance refers to the wide range of quasi-autonomous organizations – ‘fringe bodies, quangos and all that’ – to which an increasing proportion of state activity is now delegated. Recent reports by the OECD have emphasized the growing role of these bodies in relation to policy-making, regulation and administration within advanced industrial countries. However, the existence of delegated forms of governance enjoying an arm's length relationship to elected politicians raises fundamental questions regarding the operation and nature of representative democracy. Political devolution to regions within nation states has long been advocated as a potential solution to concerns regarding the control, accountability and patronage in relation to these bodies. This article presents the findings of a research project that examined the degree to which devolution to Scotland since 1998 has impacted upon the structure of delegated governance and the possible policy implications this may have for other...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the institutions of the bilingual Brussels Capital Region in which the decision-making processes rely on negotiations, common agreements and mutual vetoes, and the vulnerability of this consensus model became clear when the right-wing extremist Vlaams Blok grew and aimed at winning the majority within the Dutch language group in the Brussels regional Parliament.
Abstract: This election report focuses on the vulnerable complexity of the Brussels institutional system. It presents the institutions of the bilingual Brussels Capital Region in which the decision-making processes rely on negotiations, common agreements and mutual vetoes. The vulnerability of this consensus model became clear when the right-wing extremist Vlaams Blok grew and aimed at winning the majority within the Dutch language group in the Brussels regional Parliament. Given the fact that nobody wants to govern with the Vlaams Blok, that would mean the end of the Brussels consensus model and endanger the Belgian consensus model. In 2004 the Vlaams Blok did not succeed in gaining the majority, but the problem remains on the agenda for the next regional elections of 2009.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated whether increased concern to bring Europe closer to the citizen and the more inclusive European Convention format enhanced the influence of member state territorial actors in EU treaty-making.
Abstract: This article investigates whether increased concern to ‘bring Europe closer to the citizen’ and the more inclusive European Convention format enhanced the influence of member state territorial actors in EU treaty-making. To this end, four questions are explored in a case study of Spanish territorial actors' experience of the Convention process: What did regions and minority nationalists hope to gain from the Convention? Who represented them there? What domestic pressures could they apply on Convention members? To what extent did individual Convention members defend or articulate regional and minority nationalist preferences? It is concluded that while the Convention method facilitated participation of actors formally representing certain Spanish territorial actors for the first time, overall the Convention method did not greatly improve their involvement in debate. This was largely due to the partisan and representative mandates of the Spanish Convention delegation, limited domestic collaboration...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the engagement of business associations in the process of regional governance is dependent upon their "will" and capacity, and that the elements of will and capacity are influenced by the differing "logics" that drive business associations.
Abstract: The representational activities of business associations at the regional level are generally underdeveloped. In the past there has been little need to cultivate regional representation due to the political centralism that is characteristic of the UK. New Labour's regional agenda changed this situation and business associations were presented with additional opportunities to participate in an emerging process of regional governance. The response to these opportunities is explored through an analysis of the experiences of the Engineering Employers' Federation Northern Association (EEFNA). This paper argues that the engagement of business associations in the process of regional governance is dependent upon their ‘will’ and capacity. Drawing upon the formative work of Schmitter and Streeck and the more recent work of Bennett, it is further argued that the elements of will and capacity are influenced by the differing ‘logics’ that drive business associations, identified here as the ‘logic of services’...
TL;DR: In this paper, the results of the 2005 autonomous election in Galicia are analyzed and the main reasons behind the defeat of the Popular Party after 16 years of absolute majority in the Galician Parliament are discussed.
Abstract: In this paper, the results of the 2005 autonomous election in Galicia are analyzed. After a review of the political context and the campaign, we present and analyze the results at electoral and institutional level explain the main reasons behind the defeat of the Popular Party after 16 years of absolute majority in the Galician Parliament and discuss its implications for the political system at the Galician and Spanish levels.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the impact of current practices of stakeholder engagement on declared aspirations of both inclusivity and democratic renewal in the North East of England and identify persistent barriers to the inclusion of the wider civic society in regional decision making.
Abstract: Drawing upon empirical research of governance in the North East of England, this article aims to evaluate the impact of current practices of stakeholder engagement on declared aspirations of both inclusivity and democratic renewal. Using the North East Assembly (NEA) as a case study, it details the experiences and opinion of both ‘key’ and marginalized stakeholders of the NEA in its role as ‘the voice of the region’. Whilst highlighting examples of good practice, its findings identify persistent barriers to the inclusion of the wider civic society in regional decision making. Barriers that require more than mere aspirational terminology or the development of consultative fora if the expertise and voice of this civic society is to be not only encouraged to participate but effectively utilized and represented. It concludes with a proposed model for future engagement that aims to provide a more accountable, flexible and non-hierarchical approach to stakeholder engagement. Whilst located within a dis...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors employ an institutionalist approach to explain the design of executive power sharing under the d'Hondt procedure in the Northern Ireland 1998 Agreement, and point out that the preference for the DHT was due to the evolution of proposals from the 1970s and the preferences of the parties for proportional, inclusive and automatic power sharing whereby ministerial seats are allocated subject to party strength in the assembly.
Abstract: The article employs an institutionalist approach to explain the design of executive power sharing under the d'Hondt procedure in the Northern Ireland 1998 Agreement. It argues that the preference for d'Hondt was due to (1) the evolution of proposals from the 1970s and (2) the preferences of the parties for proportional, inclusive and automatic power sharing whereby ministerial seats are allocated subject to party strength in the assembly. The paper considers the processes of structure and agency that led to executive design in 1998 and points to the ongoing design since the suspension of the devolved institutions in October 2002.
TL;DR: In this article, the committee-civil society relationship and committee as linkage is examined in the context of the Scottish Parliament and its committees' activities outside the parliament building. But the focus is on the committee constituency.
Abstract: Between the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and June 2005 its committees held over seventy formal meetings and a vastly greater number of informal meetings outside the parliament building in Edinburgh. Having traced the extent of the various forms of committee activity outside the capital, this paper explores the implications for representative democracy. It juxtaposes the notions of ‘spectator democracy’ and ‘inclusive democracy’ and asks whether these peripatetic practices have contributed to increasing the amount of popular participation in the political process and to moving Scotland some way towards becoming a small, ‘inclusive democracy’. The focus is on the committee-civil society relationship and committees as linkage. Parliamentary committees are depicted as representing policy constituencies, each ‘committee constituency’ comprising a range of affected interests, both organised (mobilised) and non-mobilised actors. This paper presents two models of political representation—t...
TL;DR: The Italian Regional Elections of April 2005 as mentioned in this paper showed that the centre-right electorate abstention was at the origin of the electoral triumph of the Unione, which gained 12 out of 14 regions where elections took place.
Abstract: This article deals with the Italian Regional Elections of April 2005. After providing a brief sketch of the shaping of regional government during the past ten years, the article deals with three essential features. First: the character of the consultation. Once again, the national-political significance of regional elections has largely prevailed. Second: the relationship between turnout and party performance. The centre-right electorate abstention was at the origin of the electoral triumph of the Unione. Third: the most significant results of both majority and proportional sector contests. The result was cut and dried. The Unione gained 12 out of 14 regions where elections took place. Notwithstanding, this political earthquake did not create a critical election.
TL;DR: In this paper, a literature review of previous work that has sought to draw attention to the potential compatibility, or otherwise, between the political forces of environmentalism and nationalism is presented.
Abstract: This article develops previous theoretical and empirical connections made between the discourses of nationalism and environmentalism. It commences with a literature review of previous work that has sought to draw attention to the potential compatibility, or otherwise, between the political forces of environmentalism and nationalism. Drawing on qualitative and original primary evidence, the rise and decline of the Plaid Cymru/Green Party alliance of 1991–95 is charted—an episode that says much about the uneasy relationship between nationalism and environmentalism. The election of Cynog Dafis as MP for Ceredigion and Pembroke North was a historic event both for Welsh nationalism and the Green Party. However, the subsequent, acrimonious break-up of the coalition suggests that relationships between environmentalism and nationalism shall remain a situationally contingent phenomenon.
TL;DR: In this article, an actor-centred analysis of the process which has led to the agreement is presented, and it is argued that multi-level governance is a reality that works, although only for some regions enjoying the necessary resources and political weight, and without entailing a distortion of authority structures and relations.
Abstract: Tripartite agreements and contracts have recently emerged as possible forms of a more direct, active and horizontal partnership between levels of government within the European Union. In 2004 an experimental agreement on sustainable mobility was signed by the Commission, the Italian government and the region of Lombardy. This article proposes an actor-centred analysis of the process which has led to the agreement. It is argued that multi-level governance is a reality that works, although only for some regions enjoying the necessary resources and political weight, and without entailing a distortion of authority structures and relations.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine whether, how and to what extent distinctive "class logics of collective action" are being reproduced beyond the employment relation and the workplace through organized labour's engagement in devolved development and governance.
Abstract: Trade unions and their collective federations have begun to participate in the devolution and regionalization of government and governance in the UK. This paper examines whether, how and to what extent distinctive “class logics of collective action” are being reproduced beyond the employment relation and the workplace through organized labour's engagement in devolved development and governance. Drawing upon an empirical analysis of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in North East England and Wales, the argument here is that the extent and nature of trade union federations' substantive interest definitions and participation in devolved development and governance are shaped by the interrelations between labour movement concerns of economic and social justice and the particular nature, type and interests of their trade union affiliates, the centralism of the national TUC, and the openness of devolved institutions to economic and social partner engagement. Trade union federations are building strategy a...
TL;DR: In this article, the case of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and its conflict with two large foreign corporations is analyzed, highlighting how international conflicts have set off some important changes in intergovernmental relations and foreign policy in Mexico, even if regional activity in the international system is largely missing.
Abstract: Globalization has brought international issues to arenas of subnational jurisdiction. In the more developed countries, this process has led to the regionalization of international relations. This article explores how subnational units in developing countries address these same questions. The case of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and its conflict with two large foreign corporations is analysed. This study highlights how international conflicts have set off some important changes in intergovernmental relations and foreign policy in Mexico, even if regional activity in the international system is largely missing.
TL;DR: Himsworth and O'Neill as mentioned in this paper presented the Scotland's Constitution: Law and Practice. Edinburgh and London: Lexis Nexis, 2003. Pp. xi+
Abstract: Scotland's Constitution: Law and Practice. By C.M.G. Himsworth and C.M. O'Neill. Edinburgh and London: Lexis Nexis, 2003. Pp. xi + 549. £43.00 (paperback). ISBN 0 406 99609 1. Delineating Wales: Co...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the background of this decisive election, as well as the campaign and the results, and concluded that the defeat of the incumbent government is explained by the rising tumout, and the losses both to the right and to the left.
Abstract: The election in Germany's most populated Land brought the CDU to power in Dusseldorf, but also led to advanced federal elections which changed the destiny of the whole country. This article analyzes the background of this decisive election, as well as the campaign and the results. The defeat of the incumbent government is explained by the rising tumout, and the losses both to the right and to the left. The SPD lost its dominance among the economically active age groups, fared worse in the economically affluent parts of North Rhine Westphalia, and lost some university towns. Immediately after the results were announced, SPD leaders Muntefering and Schroder decided to “flee to the front”, bringing forward a new federal election. On the left, the results encouraged the foundation of a new federal party. These federal developments overshadowed the consequences for North Rhine Westphalia, where for the first time in 40 years, the CDU took over the helm.
TL;DR: In Schleswig-Holstein, Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU) was finally elected Minister-prasident (PM) as mentioned in this paper more than two months after the elections held on February 20.
Abstract: On 27 April 2005, Peter Harry Carstensen (CDU) was finally elected Ministerprasident (PM) of Schleswig-Holstein, more than two months after the elections held on February 20. Two months of coalition games, and four attempts to elect a PM – all of them frustrated by the ‘high treason’ of an unknown Member of Parliament – intervened.