Regionalism Contested Institution, Society and Governance

As we move further into the 21st century, the prominence of regions can no longer be taken for granted. A certain skepticism has developed with regard to the feasibility of marginal regions achieving self-sustained growth and states have maintained their role as regulators of economic and social activities. Thus, the notion of the region and its significance is currently much debated and contested. Illustrated with a wide range of European case studies, this volume brings together the main strands of these contestations, as economic, political and social actors attempt to institutionalise their vision of their region as the dominant form of territorial governance. It questions both the external delimitation and the internal constitution of regions and critically analyses the societal processes circumscribing ways in which regions are created, maintained and undermined. The volume provides a wide range of analytical perspectives to enable an understanding of the current mosaic of regionalism in Europe.

Contents: Introduction: regional contestations, Henrik Halkier, Iwona Sagan. Actors, Networks and the Production of Regions: Regional policy contested: political discourse, institutions and the transformation of the Scottish Development Agency, Henrik Halkier; Multi level governance and civil society: the third sector in the design and delivery of EU Regional Policy, Harvey W. Armstrong, Peter Wells; Shared leadership and dynamic capabilities in regional development, Markku Sotarauta; Regional business associations, representation and regional governance: the Engineering Employers' Federation Northern Association in North East England, Liz Dixon. Regional Governance: Territory and Institutions: Regional spaces, spaces of regionalism: territory, insurgent politics, and the English question, Martin Jones, Gordon MacLeod; Towards a new regionalism in Norway?, Oddbjørn Bukve; Europeanization towards new forms of regional governance in Greece, Panayiotis Getimis, Leeda Demetropoulou; Spatialities of regional transformation and the administrative spaces of the EU, Iwona Sagan, Roger Lee; Regional governance in industrial regions in Central and Eastern Europe: a Polish-Czech comparison, Martin Ferry, Irene McMaster. Contesting City Regions: Global competition and city regional governance in Europe, Tassilo Herrschel, Peter Newman; Uneven development, sustainability, and city-regionalism contested: English city-regions in the European context, Andrew E.G. Jonas, David C. Gibbs, Aidan While; Metropolitan governance and regionalism: the case of Lisbon, Carlos Nunes Silva, Stephen Syrett; Regional contestations: conclusions, Iwona Sagan, Henrik Halkier; Index.

Dr Iwona Sagan is based at the University of Gdansk in Poland. Dr Henrik Halkier is based at the University of Aalborg in Denmark.