(Edward Elgar, 2024-03-19) Colino , César; del Pino, Eloísa; Edward Elgar; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5497-1302
The Spanish experience with regional governments and governance illustrates well the development of subnational actors and institutions responding to complex drivers and motivations. It shows how subnational forces, based on identity, geography, economy, democratic and ethnoterritorial demands, can reshape the role and scope of traditional nation-states. This chapter describes and appraises the functioning and achievements of Spanish regional governments and governance institutions and dynamics by reviewing the recent research on the issue and focusing on the regional level of government. It discusses how regional governance - functions, structures, processes and outcomes - has evolved in Spain, and its consequences for the political system, intergovernmental relations, and policy making. It starts with the configuration of regional democracies and governments, then looks at subnational governance configuration and problems, and ends with some discussion of the outcomes of regional governance in terms of economic performance and social and territorial cohesion.
