Political and Economic Impacts of Decentralization Reforms and Processes

Abstract

Changes in the territorial governance structure, the territorial reorganization of power and local politics have key political and economic determinants, as well as important political and economic outcomes at the local, national and international levels. Furthermore, local politics are useful in understanding political changes, such as the political mobilization of minority groups in a country. The papers in this panel look at the determinants and the repercussions of local politics and decentralization / recentralization both in terms of structure and agency in different contexts in Europe, contributing to literatures of public administration, comparative political economy, fiscal federalism, European Union and identity politics, using various research methods. The findings from the specific cases can be utilized for understanding the different applications and forces of decentralization and recentralization in a comparative context. In order to understand the organizational structure of public administration and its impact, Tek Turan’s paper looks at the roles of Governors in Turkey in the administrative structure and their importance within the processes of centralization and decentralization. Using process-tracing, Irepoglu Carreras analyzes whether the decentralization patterns and the geographical variances of historical Spain – the Eight Spains - still remain and how this legacy influences the inequalities today. In another paper on Spain, Novo Arbona examines how the territorial power distribution has changed in Spain and its outcomes, in the framework of a three-level game since the adoption of the constitution in 1978, with the influence of the electorate and the governance structure - also focusing on the changes brought about by the Euro crisis. Massetti studies the domestic and international political factors of the recent territorial reorganization processes in Italy and its outcomes, in light of the responses to the Euro crisis and in the context of the European Union. Sztwiertnia’s paper looks at how local politics and elections play a key role for the political participation and representation of the Polish minority in the Czech Republic, enabling more effective promotion of interests; a study which can be useful in understanding and analyzing similar situations in Central Europe.

Title	Details
Decentralization, Resources and Inequality in Spain: Are there still 'Eight Spain's'?	View Paper Details
Being a Governor in Turkey: Impact of the New Law No. 6360	View Paper Details
Finding the Balance between Domestic 'Federalism by Devolution' and EU 'Federalism by Integration': The Case of Italy during the Euro Crisis	View Paper Details
Safeguards or disturbing elements? The political factors that affect the de/centralization of the territorial power distribution: the case of the Spanish political system	View Paper Details
Political participation, representation and mobilisation of Polish national minority in the Czech Republic	View Paper Details