Hoorcollege 12: Regionalism and Multi-Level Party System

Question 1

Nation building and cleavages

Answer 1

1. Because of nation building the centre-periphery cleavage emerged
2. This led to different types of parties and party systems emerging
3. Modernisation would strengthen the territorial boundaries of the naion state
4. Old forms of local rule would be broken down
5. The centre-periphery cleavage becomes less important

Question 2

Nationalism and state formation

Answer 2

1. Nationalism was assumed to be linked with the state formation
2. Old assumption that each ethnic identity has its state. This was based upon threshold principle where larger ethnicities were seen as the important ones and deserved a state.
3. Also based on the idea of self-determination: there has to be an idea of citizens, to get an idea of this, there needs to be an idea of the state
4. This determined the model of state formation

Question 3

Differences in states after attempt of nation state building

Answer 3

1. France was unitary and highly centralised
2. Germany became federal
3. GB had unitary states but with compromises between nations within
4. Italy unitary but failed to accomplish full incorportation
5. Switzerland and Belgium failed to become a unitary state

Question 4

What happened with old tendencies of nationalism

Answer 4

1. Got institutionalised in political parties and scholarship
2. Minorities or challengers were seen as folkloric, primitive and populist.
3. Many theorists of nationalism thought it would disappear

Question 5

Political right and left on nationalism

Answer 5

1. Those on political right defended national (state) identity
2. Those on political left saw questions of identity as taking away from larger questions of redistribution, which was also regionally focused
   (right cultural vs left economical)
   This begins to change in the 60s due to the rise of regionalist movements, even though there was a belief that they would disappear due to the rise of other cleavages.

Question 6

Nationalism as ideology

Answer 6

Thin-centred ideology, needs another ideology to give it content. Its understanding of the world is not comprehensive enough to stand on its own

Question 7

Five parts of nationalism ideology

Answer 7

1. Prioritisation of particular group, the nation. This is within a territorial structure
2. Positive valorisation of one’s own nation, sees own people in a positive light.
3. Desire to give institutional representation of the first two
4. Space and time key for social identity, nationalists say they have always existed, attached to emotions.
5. Strong focus on belonging where sentiment and emotions are important

Question 8

Three other components of nationalism

Answer 8

1. The nation is a form of organisation
2. The nation is unified in an organic community. An organic community is a harmonious community that provides members of the community with their needs.
3. The nation and this organic community practice self-determination. There is popular sovereignty.

Question 9

Three theories on what constitutes a nation

Answer 9

1. Primordialist theory says it is about cultural heritage and emotional attachment. It is about ethnicity, but more in a cultural sense than a DNA-sense.
2. Modernist theory says it is caused by modernisation and industrialisation. Nations are a function of the state and in order to have an economy you need to have a natioal identity
3. Constructivist theory says that the nation is a cultural construction, done through media/education and the idea of an imagined community.

Question 10

Three forms of nationalism

Answer 10

1. Political nationalism
2. Cultural nationalism
3. Ethnic nationalism

Question 11

Political nationalism/civic nationalism

Answer 11

1. Open form of nationalism.
2. Focus on political institutions.
3. You can become a member of the nation.
4. Tends to be more inclusive.
5. National identity is based on institutions
6. Certain fulfillments, but you can become a part of the nation.

Question 12

Cultural nationalism

Answer 12

This is a middle form of nationalism. You can become a member of the nation, but it is not as easy as with political nationalism, which makes it both inclusive and exclusive. Focus on common culture.

Question 13

Ethnic nationalism

Answer 13

1. Focus on ethnic identity
2. Very closed form
3. You do not belong to the nation if you don’t have the same ethnic identity

Question 13

Ethnic nationalism

Answer 13

1. Focus on ethnic identity
2. Very closed form
3. You do not belong to the nation if you don’t have the same ethnic identity

Question 14

Liberal nationalism

Answer 14

1. More civic view
2. Emphasis on political allegiance
3. Nations are moral entitities with rights and a right to self-determination

Question 15

Conservative nationalism

Answer 15

1. Nation is an organic entity bound by a common ethnic identity and shared history.
2. The nation is the most significant social group

Question 16

Socialist nationalism

Answer 16

1. The nation is an artificial division of humankind whose purpose is to disguise social injustie and prop up the established order.
2. Political movements should have an international character

Question 17

Fascist nationalism

Answer 17

1. View the nation as organically unified
2. Often defined by race, which gives purpose and meaning to a individual
3. Nations are pitted in a darwinistic struggle for survival and some are fittest to succeed

Question 18

Regionalism

Answer 18

1. Regionalists call the existing nation state into question
2. Use the same narrative as nationalism: why can we not determine ourselves? (we have existed in this territory since the beginning of times)
3. Want to reorganise the existing power structures of the state
4. Want more power over their own affairs or want to become independent

Question 19

Regionalist parties manifest in 4 different ways

Answer 19

1. Protectionist parties want to pass laws to protect minorities, but want to remain within the state.
2. Autonomist parties want more autonomy in the state, more regional power. They want special status while remaining within the state.
3. Independence parties want to separate a certain region form the state.
4. National-federalist parties want to federalise the state and devolve power to the regions
   They field candidates from their region only and campaign witht he objective of gainig more for the interests of the region.

Question 20

Why the emergence of regionalist parties?

Answer 20

Could be because of ethnicity, since many are based upon ethnic divisions (religious and linguistic) (think of Catalonia, Basque, Flanders). However, this is less about regions such as Northern Italy, Scotland, Wales, Bavaria.
To explain this we need to look at two phases:
1. Phase 1: 1860s-1990s
2. Phase 2: 2000s onwards

Question 21

Phase 1 of regionalism

Answer 21

1960s-1990s. There were three developments that helped mobilise regional identities.
1. Economic restructuring of the states.
2. Self-determination
3. Identity politics

Question 22

Economic restructuring of the states in phase 1 regionalism

Answer 22

1. Post WWII economic development was more nation state bound.
2. Case made about redistribution: distribution between regions was always down top-down in a technocratic (by government/elite) way. Redistribution needed to fix regionalism.
3. The rise of globalisation challenged the nation state. The state was able to do less as markets opened (ending of embedded liberalism).
4. There is an internal restructuring of the organisation of the economy, which makes it so there is less of an ability to redistribute between regions.

Question 23

Self-determination phase 1 regionalism

Answer 23

Due to decolonisation some regions took this as a way to say that they were being colonised by the nation state. Rise of self-determination thoughts.

Question 24

Identity politics regionalism phase 1

Answer 24

1. A growing sense of alienation from mainstream parties (dealignment)
2. Rise of post material values and identity politics
3. More thoughts of what kind of political parties to support
4. We see that many of these movements begin to demand protection of their language

Question 25

Phase 2 of regionalism

Answer 25

2000s and onwards. This was the institutionalisation of regionalist ideas in the form of multi-level party systems caused by:
1. EU-integration
2. Regionalists movements having success

Question 26

Phase 2 regionalism EU-integration

Answer 26

1. European integration created the Europe of the Regions where regions can have a seat in Brussels
2. This meant regional development funds and more cooperation across borders
3. This provided an institutional context for regionalist movements
4. Regional movements could now undermine the nation state by representing themselves and asking for money and regional strategies discussions.

Question 27

Success regionalist movements phase 2

Answer 27

1. Because of the success of regional parties they started pushing more for decentralisation and obtaining powers at regional levels
2. They got to decide more, and sometimes even broke open the traditional party system and “created” a new one because national parties had to adapt.
3. Because national parties had to adapt, they had to keep regional interests in mind
4. Success this way led to more success
5. Centre-periphery cleavage has bloomed again because of adaptation and party systems being more multi-level