Comparing Regionalism and Multi-Level Identity Promotion in Wallonia and Quebec: Knowledge Policies as a Prism

This paper explores the link between multi-level policy making and identity promotion using knowledge policies as a backdrop. The study focuses on the regions of Wallonia and Quebec, observing the role of knowledge policies for the promotion of identity at subnational, national and supranational levels of governance. Both cases represent sub-state regional entities within federal multinational states, as well as within larger supranational contexts. As such, three levels of territorial and identity politics are at play. Moreover, higher education and research policies are dispersed along territorial levels creating a valuable lens for the examination of multi-tiered politics. While in certain respects, multi-level politics in Wallonia and Quebec follow similar patterns; distinct logics of regionalism are observed both "from below" and "from above". Examining these cases in a comparative perspective can therefore offer important insight into the conceptual understanding of regionalism, multi-level politics, regional identity and the link between them.