With or without you: Mobilization strategies of Portuguese regional authorities in the European Union

Abstract

A sizable body of literature has investigated the activity of regional authorities in attempting to circumvent central governments in the European Union (EU). Located at the intersection between research on multi-level governance and Europeanization, and building on the conceptual division between 'financial' and 'regulatory' mobilization, the aim of this article is to identify the domestic mediating factors which condition the channels and rationales underpinning Portuguese regional strategies in the EU. This article shows that structures, agency and contextual factors are the most relevant mediating factors explaining the decision of the Autonomous Regions of Azores and Madeira to combine intra-and extra-state strategies geared towards 'regulatory' purposes, whereas the five deconcentrated Regional Coordination and Development Commissions (CCDRs) in mainland Portugal have confined themselves to an extra-state strategy tailored to 'financial' purposes. We conclude that despite the presence of national bypassing in both cases, the regions have not challenged Portuguese state authority.