Regionalization

Regionalization is the program or process of forming regions. This implies the reorganization of a territory according to various criteria or dimensions and with different aims. Considering a state or any political entity with a unitary essence, regionalization can be viewed as the process of rearranging or subdividing its territory into smaller administrative and/or political units. These would acquire powers and competences previously held by the superior unit. Hence, regionalization is a decentralized reorganization of territorial interests and political positions. Normally, both subnational entities (in the case of unitary states) and substate entities (in the case of federal states) are called regions; however, the same reasoning could [Page 2247]be applied at lower levels of decentralization, although in this case the term used to refer to these entities might be a different one. Nonetheless, under this common thread and with a wide range of terminology, many different realities, dynamics, and political or cultural traditions can be found: France's Départements, Spain's Comunidades Autónomas, Italy's Regioni, and many other denominations that are rooted in the local traditions. This entry points out the key dimensions of the phenomenon, the various approaches to territorial politics, and the varieties of regionalization. The last section clarifies the ways in which different state policies unfold into different types of regionalization processes.