TERRITORIAL ISSUES IN ITALY AND SPAIN: CONSISTENCY IN INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17072/2218-1067-2025-3-98-111Keywords:
regions, institutional reforms, institutional asymmetry, divergence, convergence, political and territorial heterogeneity, institutional isomorphism, Italy, SpainAbstract
Until the late 2000s, Italy and Spain addressed their respective territorial issues through comparable, though not identical, approaches. Both states established regional frameworks that afforded significant autonomy to their regions. However, the 2010s marked a divergence: Spain encountered a conflict regarding Catalonia's potential secession, whereas Italy experienced a gradual depoliticization of its territorial question. These circumstances resulted in a temporary suspension in the devolution of authorities from central governments to regional entities in both countries, slowing the smooth evolution of the status quo. Recent developments in 2024 and 2025, however, indicate a renewed trajectory toward decentralization, with ongoing transfers of competencies to individual regions. This trend simultaneously reinforces regional asymmetries and prompts efforts to reduce them. A comparative analysis of these cases, grounded in the theory of institutional isomorphism, seeks to elucidate the mechanisms underpinning the persistence of this institutional logic, which has demonstrated considerable resilience, even in the face of significant political crisis. Ultimately, the enduring stability of these institutional trajectories can largely be attributed to the continuity of fundamental elements in center-periphery relations and the persistent incentive structures influencing key stakeholders.References
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