REGIONALISM

In politics, 'regionalism' is a political ideology that focuses on the interests of a particular region or group of regions, whether traditional or formal (administrative divisions, country subdivisions, political divisions, subnational units). Regionalism centers on increasing the region's influence and political power, either through movements for limited form of autonomy (devolution, states' rights, decentralization) or through stronger measures for a greater degree of autonomy (sovereignty, separatism, independence). Regionalists often favor loose federations or confederations over a unitary state with a strong central government. Regionalism may be contrasted with ''nationalism''.
A 'regionalist party' is a regional political party promoting autonomy for its region; a 'regional party' is a political party with its base almost entirely in a single region. Because 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 a coalition government. Examples of regionalist parties include the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru in the United Kingdom and the Lega Nord in Italy, while examples of regional parties include the regionalist parties cited before and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria.
The development of regionalist politics in a state can often be a prelude to further demands for greater autonomy and even full separation. This was demonstrated in the late 1980s in Yugoslavia.

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See also

See also

★ Centralization

★ Cultural region

★ Federalism

★ Geopolitics

★ Nation-state

★ Parochialism

★ Political parties of minorities

★ Secession

★ Self-determination

★ Self-governance

★ Unitarisation