Baeva-Motusic, Andreana Kirilova; (2017) Regions and regionalism in "new" European Union member states: the cases of Istria and Pirin Macedonia. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The research studies regionalism in two sub-national border regions, Istria in Croatia and Pirin Macedonia in Bulgaria, by testing empirically existing theories on regions and regionalism. Identifying two regions where regionalism is likely to be strong, the research seeks to answer the question why comparable initial conditions have led to different levels of regionalism. While Istria has developed strong and stable regionalism with self-governance on political, cultural and economic matters, Pirin Macedonia’s regionalism has been largely limited to expressions of its cultural specificity. Theories on regionalism have been predominantly based on quantitative research of a large number of regions, which has often spanned across continents and time. Few contextual case studies have been carried out, in particular in “new” EU Member States where regionalism is altogether not widespread or at least not well articulated politically. This research provides such a contextual study and empirical backing of theories focusing on the factors leading to regionalism. Its findings indicate that economic and political uncertainly is more conducive for the emergence of regionalism than economic prosperity and political routine, but also that regionalism is more likely to be stable in the long run if it is built on such premises as affluence, cooperation and peaceful tackling of regional issues. Furthermore, at least in the case of “new” EU Member States, regionalism appears to be more about the vested-in interests of regional players than about processes of democratization and improved efficiency. An increased independence on the regional level appears to lead to stronger regionalism only if there is an overlap between political and administrative functions, i.e. if regionalist political actors are successful in establishing control over public institutions.

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