Regional autonomy movements in Europe: National governments and the EU

This thesis investigates whether the success of a regional autonomy movement within a nation state belonging to the European Union (EU) is determined by the actions of the national government or activities on behalf of the autonomy within the EU. Case studies are made of the autonomy movements in the Åland Islands, Catalonia, Scotland and Flanders, and the results are compared through a matrix typology. The level of autonomy of a region is determined by its “independent fiscal ability,” defined as the region’s ability to raise revenues or to receive automatic transfer payments from the national government. The actions of a central government affecting the region’s level of autonomy are defined as those that affect the region’s independent fiscal ability. Activities within the EU on behalf of a region’s autonomy are defined to include the region’s own paradiplomatic activities at the EU as well as actions of EU institutions on behalf of that autonomy. These indicators are generalizable and can be applied to all regional autonomies in nations belonging to the EU. It is found that the success of a regional autonomy movement is determined by the actions of a national government and not the activities on behalf of the region’s autonomy within the EU. The results have implications in the understanding of the EU’s three-tiered system of federalism.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

European Union Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2019

Author dc:creator

• Melamed, Eugenie Vivian

Contributors dc:contributor

• Vander Most, Neil
• Kourtikakis, Konstantinos

• EU
• European Union
• federalism
• autonomy
• Aland
• Catalonia
• Scotland
• Flanders
• separatism

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2019 Eugenie Melamed

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/104945

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/104945