Bulletin n. 1/2017
June 2017
INDICE
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
  • Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko, Pekka Valkama
    The role of localism in the development of regional structures in post-war Finland
    in Public Policy and Administration , Volume 32, Issue 2 ,  2017 ,  152-172
    A perceived need for a wider resource base for territorial governance has initiated a new trend for regionalisation throughout the developed world. Local governments are frequently opposed to such a development. This article presents an institutional analysis of how Finland’s tradition of strong localism has affected the forms, processes, and results of regionalisation. We argue that path dependence in the form of localist influence from the mid-1990s until the mid-2010s led to an incremental development of regional structures. However, circumstances changed in 2015 due to a historical decision by the centre-right government to establish a new tier of elected regional government. This was due to the diminished credibility of localism given the realities of contextual pressures and the government’s attempts to improve efficiency and competitiveness. Eventually, this turn will radically undermine the role of local government as a stronghold of representative localism.
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