Democracy and Regionalism in Western Europe

Regions have acquired greater prominence as a basic level of government and representation. However, regionally defined territories are not merely administrative units; in many countries, they also indicate some form of cultural identification. Regionalism thus refers to the processes involved in the construction of collective identities and the formulation of political demands focused on this territorial dimension. Regionalization is also a formidable democratizing tool that has generated participation and pluralism even under communist regimes. Even so, it only fully realizes its participatory potential in democratic countries, at least as long as it comes into conflict with the states themselves.