- Regionalism (politics)
In
politics , regionalism is apolitical ideology that focuses on the interests of a particularregion or group of regions, whether traditional or formal (administrative division s,country subdivisions ,political division s, subnational units). Regionalism centers on increasing the region's influence andpolitical power , either through movements for limited form ofautonomy (devolution ,states' rights ,decentralization ) or through stronger measures for a greater degree of autonomy (sovereignty ,separatism ,independence ). Regionalists often favor loosefederation s orconfederation s over aunitary state with a strongcentral government . Regionalism may be contrasted with "nationalism ".Proponents of regionalism say that strengthening a region's governing bodies and political powers within a larger country would create efficiencies of scale to the region, promote
decentralization , develop a more rational allocation of the region's resources for benefit of the local populations, increase the efficient implementation of local plans, raisecompetitiveness levels among the regions and ultimately the whole country, and save taxpayers money.In some countries, the development of regionalist politics may be a prelude to further demands for greater autonomy or even full separation, especially when ethnic and cultural disparities are present. This was demonstrated in the late 1980s in Yugoslavia, among other examples.
A regionalist party is a regional
political party promoting autonomy for its region; a regional party is a political party with its base almost entirely in a single region. All regionalist parties are also regional, while only a portion of regional parties are also regionalist. Because regional parties often cannot receive enough votes or legislative seats to be politically powerful, they may joinpolitical alliance s or seek to be part of acoalition government .Examples of regionalist parties include the
Scottish National Party andPlaid Cymru in theUnited Kingdom , theBasque Nationalist Party ,Convergence and Union and theRepublican Left of Catalonia inSpain , andLega Nord inItaly , while examples of regional parties include the regionalist parties cited before, theChristian Social Union of Bavaria and almost all Belgian parties.ee also
Concepts
*
Secession
*Federalism
*Parochialism
*Decentralization
*Self-governance
*Self-determination
*Political parties of minorities Political parties
Lists of regional and regionalist parties are available at:
*European Free Alliance
*List of political parties campaigning for self-government
*List of active autonomist and secessionist movements
*List of historical autonomist and secessionist movements
*pecific issues
*
North-South divide in the United Kingdom
*Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium
*Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain
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