• norsk
    • English
  • English 
    • norsk
    • English
  • Login
View Item 
  •   Home
  • Høgskolens publikasjoner / INN University - Publications
  • Lillehammer Forskningsrapport
  • View Item
  •   Home
  • Høgskolens publikasjoner / INN University - Publications
  • Lillehammer Forskningsrapport
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Neo-Regionalism: Planning for Devolution, Democracy and Development

Vegeland, Noralv
Research report
Thumbnail
View/Open
Veggeland 52 2000.pdf (267.5Kb)
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/144939
Date
2000
Metadata
Show full item record
Collections
  • Lillehammer Forskningsrapport [74]
Abstract
In a general sense there are two types of regionalism. The first is traditional and has older roots than the

national state. Its origin can be traced to the many small political systems in Europe in the Middle Ages, and

was already in the 1700s seen as a small scale alternative to the national state. It was not just a case of the

political advantages of scale – the region represented a starting point for resistance to the process of

industrialisation and modernity as such. In modified form the criticism of civilisation is found in today´s

traditional regionalism. The region is seen as a defence against large-scale society, a possibility for “grassroot”

democracy, self-determination and the expansion of the civil society.

The second type of regionalism, the neo-regionalism, takes modernity as its starting point, and envisages

the region as an instrument for democracy and bottom-up participation, development planning and decisionmaking

in European and global political and economic networks. The region develops as a functional aspect

of borderless, urban and high-tech society accompanying the integration of Europe. Emphasis is placed

upon the possibilities of new information and communication technology to overcome distance as a barrier to

devolution and to regionalisation of the nation-state.

In this study I elaborate the concept of neo-regionalism in terms of the European integration and planning,

and as a political doctrine for modernisation of the nation-state. Traditional theory link parliamentary

democracy to the necessity of the foundation of a unified people and a communicative community i.e. none

“demos” means none “demos-cracy”. The political EU is suffering from institutional deficit of democracy and

the lack of cultural preconditions for political unity and cohesion i.e. the failure of “demos” (political

community) and “ethnos” (ethnic community). Therefore the crucial question: Is a democratic form of

government feasible in an integrated Europe? In line with the German social scientist Jürgen Habermas, I

argue that a democratic and a prosperous economic development in the European Area might be possible to

achieve by a constitutional system of superior Legal Rights. In this context Habermas has suggested that the

European Union should develop a philosophy and an identity based not upon some form of emotional and

cultural unity but upon what he calls “constitutional patriotism”.

In terms of international Human Rights, equality and downward devolution, there are arguments to be found

in the academic debate on democracy theory to state the reason for such an approach. The EU institutional

order should be based on a multi-level-system of governance in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity

linked with democratic procedures for decision-making and representation. The EU legislation should further

guarantee nationalities, minorities and ethnic groups political and human rights, and regional economic and

social cohesion should become an overarching legal objective. To achieve these basic institutional

preconditions for democracy and a prosperous development, the neo-regional strategy is to link the upward

devolution and European integration with the laying down of a negotiated downward devolution as well,

followed by a regionalisation of the nation-state. Accordingly, important elements in such an integrated

development are the principles of shared sovereignty, pooled sovereignty, partnership and cross-border

regionalisation. Inherent in the political doctrine of neo-regionalism as it occurs in the European academic

debate is the triad of claims: devolution and “grass root” democracy (politics), balanced competitiveness and

cohesion (economics), and acknowledge of equality and historical, cultural and ethnic identities (rights).
Publisher
Høgskolen i Lillehammer
Series
Forskningsrapport;52

Contact Us | Send Feedback

Privacy policy
DSpace software copyright © 2002-2019  DuraSpace

Service from  Unit
 

 

Browse

ArchiveCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDocument TypesJournalsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDocument TypesJournals

My Account

Login

Statistics

View Usage Statistics

Contact Us | Send Feedback

Privacy policy
DSpace software copyright © 2002-2019  DuraSpace

Service from  Unit