Exploring the correspondence between regional forms of governance and regional identity: The case of Western Europe

Abstract

Citation: ANTONSICH, M., 2010 AbstractIn the present post-Fordist epoch, the region has emerged as a strategic site for socio-economic governance. The region today is viewed as a key centre in processes of capital accumulation and (re)production and it occupies an important position in regulating social life. Yet, little is known about the spatial representations held by people about the regions in which they live. This article aims to contribute to fill this gap, by exploring two interrelated issues: what people mean by region and how they relate their sentiment of regional identity to the regional administrative space to which they belong. The study relies on focus group discussions and individual interviews administered in four Western European regions. The empirical research suggests that the region is constructed by people as a geographically ambiguous reference and that their sense of regional identity is not necessarily directed towards the region as an administrative space. This challenges the correspondence between function (governance) and identity theorised by the literature on the institutionalisation of regions.

Narrative claims on regions: prospecting for spatial identities among social movements in Finland

“…For example, Eurobarometer surveys measure values and identification to regions on different scales within the EU (e.g., Antonsich 2008Antonsich , 2010aEC [European Community] 2009). While we can get time series data from the barometers, their demerit is that they pre-categorize the answers and any context-dependent nuances, in values or perceptions cannot be found.…”

“…Regardless of the discursive narratives or written identities categorizing the region, citizens can view the symbolic shape and the iconographies of the region differently. Thus, regions can manifest as precepts organizing everyday life, while also remaining distant (Antonsich 2010a;Deacon 2004).…”

Territorial changes and changing identities: how spatial identities are used in the up-scaling of local government in the Netherlands

“…This is mostly done by comparing local identification with the identification with other spatial levels (Kato 2011;Casey 2010;Jones and Desforges 2003;Antonsich 2007Antonsich , 2010aAntonsich , 2010bSoguel & Siberstein 2015;Brown and Deem 2014;Moreno 2007). Through this focus on individual identity, they neglect studying the characteristics of local identities and their importance for local communities.…”

Integracja europejska w mikroperspektywie. Graniczne miasta bliźniacze w Europie Zachodniej i Środkowo-Wschodniej

“…Produkcja i konsumpcja nie nastêpuj¹ ju¿ w granicach pañstw narodowych, lecz poprzez zwiêkszenie skali w instytucjach miêdzynarodowych i ponadnarodowych (NATO, Unia Europejska), poprzez zmniejszenie w jednostkach samorz¹du terytorialnego (regiony, miasta) 47 . Graniczne miasta bliŸniacze czêsto podkreoelaj¹, i¿ ich rola w procesie integracji europejskiej jest kluczowa, a one same s¹ laboratoriami tego procesu.…”