%0 Journal Article
%T Sub-national Units in Transition: IR Theory and Emerging Actors in a Multi-level Environment
%A £¿brahim Alper Ar£¿soy
%J International Journal of Contemporary Economics and Administrative Sciences
%D 2011
%I International Journal of Contemporary Economics and Administrative Sciences
%X While European integration has gained momentum following the Treaty of Maastricht, a discourse on ¡°Europe of the regions¡± has come to the fore, with the presumption that the sub-national units become, or are supposed to become, active dynamics of the integration process. However, this dominant discourse seems to take the ¡°actorness¡± of sub-national units for granted, without questioning their rather passive position in the face of both national and supranational actors. In turn, this passive position gives rise to a reaction ¨C albeit in some cases reluctantly ¨C from the part of sub-national units. As a matter of fact, the research on which the present paper is based suggests that while their involvement in interaction at both national and supra-national levels varies from country to country, and even from one region to another within any given member state, these units tend to ¡°individualise¡± for certain reasons. Among others, the main factors of individualisation are ever-growing competition and devolution of not only competences, but also public finance burdens which forces the sub-national units to act increasingly in individual terms. The paper aims to share some observations on the transformation of these units, focusing on the case of Italy.
%K European integration
%K multi-level system
%K regionalisation
%K sub-national units.
%U http://www.ijceas.com/index.php/ijceas/article/view/36