Regionalisering och regionalism

Abstract

Regionalization and regionalism. How can we explain the resurgence of the notion of region in West European politics? 'Conventional' explanations focus on socio-economic factors of change, such as the globalization of the economy and the' Silicon Valley phenomenon'. This article, however, gives an alternative answer to the question by emphasizing the importance of ideas and ideology. It treats regionalization as a political project (regionalism) rather than an unchangeable socio-economic development and seeks to expose its normative foundations. As such, I claim that current regionalism is significantly influenced by neo-liberal ideas about the state and the relation between the public and the private spheres. The article starts out with a brief review of regionalism. Thereafter, the reverberations of this cluster of ideas is traced in a contemporary Swedish context; generally as well as through a concrete case study of the agreements on regional growth ('de regionala tillväxtavtalen'). The article concludes with a research agenda proposal, pleading for a greater focus on the ideational aspects of regionalization, the conceptions of the region in party politics and the questions concerning regional democracy.