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Regionalism is apolitical ideology that seeks to increase thepolitical power, influence and self-determination of the people of one or moresubnational regions. It focuses on the "development of a political or social system based on one or more"regions,[1][2] and/or the national, normative, or economic interests of a specific region, group of regions or another subnational entity,[3] gaining strength from or aiming to strengthen the "consciousness of and loyalty to a distinct region with a homogeneous population",[1] similarly tonationalism. More specifically, "regionalism refers to three distinct elements: movements demanding territorial autonomy within unitary states; the organization of the central state on a regional basis for the delivery of its policies including regional development policies; political decentralization and regional autonomy".[4]
Regions may be delineated byadministrative divisions,culture,language andreligion, among others. Regionalists' demands occur in "strong" forms (such assovereigntism,separatism,sovereignty,secession andindependence), as well as more "moderate" campaigns for greaterautonomy (such asstates' rights,decentralization ordevolution). Strictly speaking, regionalists favourconfederations overunitarynation states with strongcentral governments. They may, however, embrace intermediate forms offederalism. Proponents of regionalism usually claim that strengthening the governing bodies and political powers within a region, at the expense of acentralized government, will benefit local populations by improving regional or local economies, in terms of betterfiscal responsibility,regional development, allocation of resources, implementation oflocalist policies and plans,competitiveness among regions and, ultimately, the whole country, consistent with the principle ofsubsidiarity.
Regionalism,autonomism,separatism andnationalism are interrelated concepts, yet they often have different and sometimes opposite meanings. For instance, inSpain "regionalism" is regarded as strongly associated with "nationalism" and, often, "separatism", whereas inItaly, it is generally seen as a synonym of "federalism" and the opposite of "nationalism". In some cases movements or parties campaigning for independence may push for federalism or autonomy within the pre-existingnation state.
Indeveloped,Western,liberal-democratic countries, secessionist parties include theParti Québécois inQuebec (Canada), theScottish National Party and theScottish Greens inScotland (United Kingdom),Plaid Cymru inWales (United Kingdom) and, to some extent,Sinn Féin inNorthern Ireland (United Kingdom), theNew Flemish Alliance andVlaams Belang inFlanders (Belgium),Corsica Libera inCorsica (France), theBasque Nationalist Party andEuskal Herria Bildu in theBasque Country (Spain and France),Together for Catalonia, theRepublican Left of Catalonia andPopular Unity Candidacy inCatalonia and theCatalan Countries (Spain and France), theGalician Nationalist Bloc inGalicia (Spain),South Tyrolean Freedom andDie Freiheitlichen inSouth Tyrol (Italy), factions ofLega and several minor parties innorthern Italy (Italy), nominally theSardinian Action Party and several minor parties inSardinia. Indeveloping countries they include thePolisario Front inWestern Sahara (Morocco), theNational Movement for the Liberation of Azawad inAzawad (Mali), theFront for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda in theCabinda Province (Angola), allnational liberation movements and theDemocratic Progressive Party inTaiwan (a country whose sovereignty is disputed byChina).
Federalist and/or autonomist regional parties include theCoalition Avenir Québec in Quebec (Canada), theNew Progressive Party and thePopular Democratic Party inPuerto Rico (acommonwealth of theUnited States),Femu a Corsica and theParty of the Corsican Nation in Corsica (France),Lega Nord and its sister/successor partyLega innorthern Italy (the party has, at times, advocatedPadania's independence and its "national section" inVeneto,Liga Veneta, is a mild proponent of Venetian independence), theMartinican Progressive Party inMartinique and theCommunist Party of Réunion inRéunion (bothFrench overseas territories) and theNew Macau Association inMacau (China).
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, cultural and economic disparities are present. This was demonstrated, among other examples, in theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
Political parties that areregional are not necessarilyregionalist parties. A "regional party" is any political party with itspolitical base in a single region, whatever its objectives and platform may be, whereas "regionalist" parties are a subset of regional parties that specifically campaign for greater autonomy or independence in their region.[citation needed]
Because regional parties – including regionalist parties – often cannot receive enough votes or legislative seats to be politically powerful, they may join political alliances or seek to be part of acoalition government. Notable examples include the Sinn Féin's participation in theNorthern Ireland Executive since 1999, the New Flemish Alliance's participation in theFederal Government of Belgium in 2014–2019 andLega's frequent participation in theItalian government.
Examples of regional parties that do not generally campaign for greater autonomy or federalism include mostprovincial parties in Canada, mostregional and minority parties in Europe, notably including theChristian Social Union in Bavaria (Germany), mostpolitical parties in Belgium, mostpolitical parties in Northern Ireland (United Kingdom), theIstrian Democratic Assembly inIstria (Croatia), theAlliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar inPrimorje-Gorski Kotar (Croatia) and mostpolitical parties inIndia.
Regional parties with an autonomist/federalist or separatist agendas have included the aforementionedBloc Québécois,Lega Nord, theVlaams Belang, the New Flemish Alliance, the defunctCatalan European Democratic Party, the Republican Left of Catalonia, the Scottish National Party,Plaid Cymru andSinn Féin
Lists of regional and regionalist parties are available at:
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