Regions

There is a long lineage in neighbourhood research that has underpinned sustained academic and policy interest in the UK centred on understanding how spatial ‘clusters’ of neighbourhood-based deprivation might be destabilised. This has seen the privileging of composite indices in the analysis of deprivation which have been criticised for fostering a common perception that deprived neighbourhoods are homogeneous in terms of their compositions and underlying structures. Such indices have also been criticised for being ineffective at capturing temporal change, providing only static snapshots of deprivation at particular points in time. This paper focuses on patterns of deprived neighbourhood change in the Greater Manchester city-region between 2001 and 2007. It develops a typology of neighbourhood change that is triangulated with three complementary typologies capturing the socioeconomic and demographic compositions of deprived neighbourhoods; the functional roles played by deprived neighbourhoods in redistributing population through migration; and the spatial contexts in which deprived neighbourhoods are located. The analysis reveals that an over reliance on static indices to measure deprivation has long-served to conceal complexities in the way that deprived neighbourhoods change, owing to their variable structures and contexts. It illustrates the danger that lies in treating all deprived neighbourhoods in the same way.

Na gospodarstvo podravske regije, ki je bilo že v preteklosti zaznamovano z vzponi in padci, je leta 2009 vplivala tudi svetovna gospodarska kriza. Avtorica predstavlja vpliv gospodarske krize na to regijo in njene občine ter kako so se nanjo odzvali ter okrevali. V prispevku so bile s pomočjo statističnih podatkov pojasnjene medobčinske razlike družbeno-gospodarske sestave pred zadnjo gospodarsko krizo. Posebna pozornost je bila na podlagi intervjujev namenjena delovanju deležnikov. Preverili smo vpliv strukturnih lastnosti občin pred gospodarsko krizo na njen vpliv in sposobnost okrevanja ter ugotovitve teoretično podkrepili z novejšim konceptom prožnosti, ki proučuje odziv na nenadne spremembe in okrevanje po njih.

Ključne besede: • Podravska statistična regija • občine • recesija • prožnost • družbeno-gospodarska sestava •


The world’s economic crisis in 2009 also influenced the Drava region, which had as well been influenced with rises and falls in the past. The purpose of this article is to introduce the influence of economic crisis on this region and its municipalities, how they responded to it and recovered from it. In this article inter-municipal differences in socio-economic structure have been explained with statistical data. Based on the interviews special attention was paid to stakeholders' functioning. Structural characteristics before the economic crisis have been examined. The findings have been evidenced by newer concept of resilience, which investigate response to sudden interruptions and recovery after then.

Key words
Drava statistical region, municipalities, recession, resilience, socio-economic structure

Qu'est-ce qui se passe de l'autre côté de la Sarine? Comment le bilinguisme sur la frontière est-il vécu? L'ouvrage "Au-delà du Röstigraben" cherche à répondre à nombre de questions qui se posent aux bords du fleuve et dans la Suisse entière. Manuel Meune est professeur en études germaniques au Département de littératures et langues modernes à l'Université de Montréal.

Regions and territories become institutionalized as part of wider geohistorical processes and practices in which these spatial entities accomplish their borders, institutions, symbolisms, and normally contested identity narratives. The borders of bounded spaces are ever more topical today because of the mobilities of human beings (tourists, migrants, refugees), the rise of (ethno-)nationalism and regionalism, anti-immigration discourses and racism, features that expose the ideological significance of territory and the forms of physical and symbolic violence that are often embedded in borders/bordering. This essay explores the tenacity of bounded spaces in academic research and in social practices, and the meanings attached to such spaces. It will analyze how geographers and other social scientists have understood and conceptualized regional and territorial borders. Borders are material and ideological constructs, institutions, processes, and symbols that are critical in the production and reproduction of regions/territories, identities, and ideologies. The article leans on author’s idea of spatial socialization and Shields’ notion of social spatialization in making sense of how the obstinate power of borders is embedded in the production and reproduction of bounded spaces and in the process of subjectification.

La crise économique a-t-elle recentralisée la décentralisation? L’hypothèse avancée ici est celle d’une poussée des dynamiques de métropolisation et de régionalisation en France sous la conjugaison de processus de convergence commun à l’ensemble de l’Union européenne (UE). Cependant, ces processus de convergence empruntent des sentiers institutionnels et politique distincts selon les régions dessinant une forte différenciation des configurations territoriales. En Bretagne, le modèle régional semble s’imposer progressivement. En Île-de-France, une métropolisation puissante est en voie d’institutionnalisation à l’initiative de l’État tandis qu’en Rhône-Alpes, le fait métropolitain semble concurrencer sinon supplanter une régionalisation à la croisée des chemins.

We all have our stories to tell. Where we have born, where we have lived and the places we have visited. The spatial history of our lives reveals much about the ways we identify with space and how we narrate our belonging. The way we identify with space is always unique, reflexive and emotional. Space around us can be thought of as scaled, in which the landscapes and communities hold differently scaled spatial meanings. Regions are part of such an identity matrix, but identification with regions is a complicated issue in the late modern world, in which space does not provide a clear and meaningful collective discourse. Regions, however, provide one source of identification. Geography has a rich tradition of regional studies, and it remains important for geographers to understand what regions mean for people today, how individuals use regions in their reflexive identity narratives, how they entitle themselves to regional discourses, how they might feel regions as an obligation or as an inseparable part of the Self-Other dialectic. This dissertation is in short about how reflexive individuals share and narrate their identities and how they understand the spatially and historically defined social.

The aim of this dissertation is to understand space as open in relation to different positionalities, life-paths and differently scaled worldviews. People construct their identities throughout their lives. Aside from highlighting the processes that construct identities and the part time plays for individual identities, the research also argues for understanding the role of time in forging the conceptions of regions. The research articles included here explicate the processes of identification with space, the role of identity discourses and belonging for both citizens in civic organizations and regional actors in regional institution, the importance of understanding how regional legacies condition various reflexive identity narratives and how regions form a part of the scalar spatial identities. In addition, the synopsis explains how regions have evolved in the case countries, Finland and England, and questions the relevance of regional imaginaries married to nation-building imaginaries.

The four research articles and this synopsis draw from  focus-group interviews with four different civic organizations in four regions in Finland and two regions in England. The 15 focus groups in Southwest Finland, Päijät-Häme, North Karelia and North Ostrobothnia were comprised of members of Local Heritage Associations, Youth Societies, Amnesty International, Friends of the Earth/Nature Conservation Association, and the eight focus groups in Devon and Cornwall involved groups of Local Heritage or Old Cornwall Society, Local Association or Amateur Operatic Society, Amnesty International and Transition. In the research, these are categorized as more locally-orientated or universally-orientated social movements or civic organizations. In addition to these focus groups, one of the articles uses one-to-one semi-structured interviews with regional actors in different regional institutions operating in Päijät-Häme. The empirical research was conducted between September 2008 and June 2010. Some of the articles and the synopsis analyse the historical legacies of the countries’ regional systems through historical source materials.

The dissertation makes a contribution to geographical knowledge by addressing three main themes. First, I argue that people have a need to identify with space and that such identification draws from their life-paths and their ability to reflect on past experiences. Second, identification with space can take place in multiple scales and individuals construct their identities by piecing together and negotiating different spatial ideas and representations. Third, while regions might form a solid source of identification for some identity narratives, the ways people relate to regions, their histories, symbols,  institutions and discourses, depends on the choices the individual makes and how she or he negotiates entitlement and obligation to discursive space among social connections. In addition, the synopsis opens up the regional histories of  Finland and England. Along with regions becoming institutionalized, they can be thought of having been synchronized as a part of administrative systems. Yet the legacies different regions have left behind influence discourses of regional identities, identification with regions and how national communities are seen through regional positions. Finally, the dissertation argues that comparing different experiences of regions, regardless of state administrations and regional systems, and that the way individuals tell emotionally driven stories for themselves and to others is, perhaps, the most fruitful way to understand identities and their transformation in everyday life.

Tis chapter outlines a fresh approach to the historical study of regions in Europe. We pro- pose that the study of regions should take into account three factors: (1) economy, environment, and geography; (2) the construction of identity; and (3) juridical and administrative structures. Te chapter includes five case studies: Catalonia, the Baltic Region, Vojvodina, South Tyrol, and the French regions. Each of these represents a different ‘type’. Catalonia was a medieval principality that has since been incorporated into a larger entity. Te Bal-tic is a geographically defined territory, which, despite being divided by political frontiers through the ages, has been home to various groups which have undergone similar historical experiences. Vojvodina represents a borderland that has been the place of destination and departure for waves of migrants over the centuries. South Tyrol exemplifies those cases in which native inhabitants are converted overnight into an irredentist minority due to geopolitical negotiations far remoted from the territory itself. Finally, the last section examines the birth and evolution of the regions o modern France.

In this work the starting point of the author is as more qualitative and functional territorial organisation of Croatia, especially its littoral area. Adriatic Croatia, as well as Eastern (Pannonian) and North-Western Croatia, has been one of three defined (future) Euroregions NUTS II in Croatia. In its recent territorial coverage it was suggested by the Republic of Croatia and accepted by Eurostat in 2007. It includes all littoral counties (županija) (7) of Croatia, covering 24.7 thousand square km with 1.4 million inhabitants (2011). The paper discusses a possible differentiation of this strategic littoral Adriatic area on three functional (gravitation) regions, of the third level (NUTS III) according to the Croatian Government criteria on efficacious decentralization and new regionalization of Croatia. Namely, some littoral counties do not satisfy European demographic criteria for statistical NUTS III region (150-800 thousand inhabitants) although in general, Croatian counties satisfy this criterion. That is why the author, applying demographic, geographic, economic, administrative and other criteria stresses the need of defining, harmonized as much as possible, three nodal-functional, i.e. gravitational regions with their centers in Rijeka, Zadar and Split. So, the Rijeka region would potentially cover Istria, Kvarner and Gorski Kotar areas with 505 000 inhabitants (2011), Zadar region would cover North Dalmatian and Lika areas with 330.000 inhabitants, and Split region would include Middle Dalmatian and Dubrovnik (South Dalmatian) areas with 578 000 residents. The Lika area is functionally and economically most optimally oriented towards Zadar, with regard to new processes of the highway linking and recently fast development of Zadar.
U ovom članku autorovo polazište je što kvalitetniji i funcionalniji teritorijalni ustroj Hrvatske, posebice njezina primorskog prostora. Jadranska Hrvatska, uz Istočnu (Panonsku) i Sjeverozapadnu Hrvatsku, jedna je od triju definiranih (budućih) euroregija NUTS II. u Hrvatskoj. U današnjem teritorijalnom obuhvatu je predložena od strane Republike Hrvatske i 2007. godine prihvaćena od Eurostata. Obuhvaća sve primorske županije (7) Hrvatske, ukupne površine 26, 7 tisuća km2 i 1, 4 milijuna stanovnika (2011.). Rad razmatra moguću diferencijaciju ovog strateškog litoralnog prostora Jadrana na tri funkcionalne (gravitacijske) regije trećeg reda (NUTS III.), u skladu s kriterijima Vlade Republike Hrvatske za učinkovitu decentralizaciju i novu regionalizaciju Hrvatske. Naime, pojedine priobalne županije ne zadovoljavaju europski demografski kriterij za statističku NUTS III. regiju (150-800 tisuća stanovnika), premda u cjelosti hrvatske županije prosječno zadovoljavaju taj kriterij. Stoga, primjenom demografskih, geografskih, gospodarskih, administrativnih i drugih kriterija, autor naglašava potrebu određivanja demografski u najvećoj mjeri usklađenih triju nodalno-funkcionalnih, odnosno gravitacijskih regija sa središtima u Rijeci, Zadru i Splitu. Tako bi u Jadranskoj Hrvatskoj riječka regija potencijalno obuhvatila Istru, Kvarner, i goranski prostor s 505.000 st. (2011.), zadarska bi obuhvatila Sjevernu Dalmaciju i Liku s 330 000 st., a splitska bi obuhvatila Srednju Dalmaciju i Dubrovnik (Južna Dalmacija) s 578.000 st. Prostor Like se funkcionalno i gospodarski najoptimalnije usmjerava na Zadar, s obzirom na nove procese povezivanja autocestom i brz noviji razvoj Zadra.

Regions and regional policy play an important role in today's economy. The center-periphery model represents a generally accepted paradigm, despite the relativity of many theoretical issues (the multidimensionality of social activities or rescaling of relationship scales). Each spatial division and its corresponding boundaries address the formation of some networks and constrain the formation of others. As a result, policies often reinforce marginalization processes. This article analyzes how these notions are employed. The bibliometric analysis tries to synthesize and emphasize critical results from the literature. Analysis may also assist in developing linkages between current relevant topics and exploring new study ideas.

The recent turmoil in the euro area once more forces the EU authorities to reconsider the future of further monetary integration. One of the most commonly used criteria for successful monetary integration in contemporary research is business cycle synchronization (BCS). Though BCS has been vastly described at country level, not as much attention has been put on the degree of BSC at regional level. The topic is important for two main reasons. Firstly, determining the degree of BCS at regional level can help in the assessment of monetary policy effectiveness on the country level, as well as give a point of reference for evaluation of prospective costs of participation in a monetary union. Secondly, there is a theoretical dispute within the optimum currency areas literature between the ‘European Commission’ and the ‘Krugman’ view that can be resolved to a large extent trough regional analysis. In order to assess BCS in EU, Hodrick-Prescott, as well as Christiano and Fitzgerald filter to time series of real GDP for 24 countries, 82 NUTS 1, 242 NUTS 2 and 1264 NUTS 3 regions over the period between 1998 and 2010. The data was later used to create bilateral measures of BSC, which gave 276 observations on country level, 3321 on NUTS 1, 29161 on NUTS 2 and 798216 on NUTS 3 level. The results of the analysis support the ‘European Commission’ view and show very high degree of BSC within EU countries. The country level analysis also reveals that, within the EU, there is a group of countries that could form effectively working monetary union based on BCS criterion.

This intervention suggests the need to closely examine uncritical uses of 'regions' in both geographical research and resource management contexts. In particular, I argue that regions are frequently leveraged in a manner that is often indistinguishable from, and thus analytically similar to, other concepts connoting connections and relationships across space. The US Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program is briefly described to illuminate the process and implications of using simplistic and erroneous regional designations (configured around the 100th Meridian) to inform resource management policy. I proffer several ways in which regions 'do work' analytically, discursively and materially, and argue that it is precisely the performative nature of regions that warrants its utility and sustained application in scholarly and policy-making environments. Finally, I suggest that the analytic toolkit possessed by political ecologists makes us uniquely equipped to assess, reconfigure, and employ regions and regional designations in our research; applications that will hopefully inform more accurate, nuanced and socially just policies.

Cet article préconise d'examiner avec attention les utilisations du concept de région dépourvues de tout sens critique, à la fois en recherche géographique et dans les contextes de gestion de ressources environnementales. Plus particulièrement, je soutien que le concept de régions est souvent utilisé de tel manière qu'il est généralement impossible de le distinguer d'autres concepts connotant des connections et des relations à travers l'espace, et donc qu'il est analytiquement similaire à ces différents concepts. Le programme de mise en réserve des terres fragiles aux États Unis (Conservation Reserve Program) est brièvement décrit pour mettre en lumière les processus et les implications simplistes et erronées de l'utilisation de « régions » (relatives au 100eme méridien) dans le cadre de politiques de gestions de ressources environnementale. Je présente plusieurs cas pour lesquels le concept de région fonctionne effectivement, de manière analytique, discursive et matérielle, et je montre que c'est précisément la nature performative du concept de région qui justifie son utilité et son application dans les contextes académiques et politiques. Enfin, je soutiens que les outils analytiques à la disposition des écologues politiques nous permettent d'évaluer, de reconfigurer, et d'utiliser le concept de région dans nos recherche d'une manière unique, qui, je l'espère, facilitera l'émergence de décisions politiques plus précises, plus nuancées, et plus juste socialement.

En esta intervención se sugiere la necesidad de examinar de cerca el uso indiscriminado de 'regiones' tanto en contextos de investigación geográfica como de administración de recursos. En particular, en este ensayo se argumenta que el concepto de regiones es frecuentemente aprovechado de tal forma que es normalmente indistinguible de, y por tanto analíticamente similar a, otros conceptos que sugieren conexiones y relaciones a través del espacio. Brevemente se describe al Programa de Conservación de Reservas del Departamento de Agricultura de Estados Unidos para iluminar el proceso e implicaciones de usar designaciones regionales simplistas y erróneas (configuradas alrededor del Meridiano 100) para informar la política de administración de recursos. Ofrezco varias formas en las que el concepto de regiones 'sí funciona' analíticamente, discursivamente y materialmente, y argumento que es precisamente la naturaleza interpretativa de regiones lo que amerita su utilidad y sostenida aplicación en ambientes académicos y de políticas públicas. Finalmente, sugiero que las herramientas analíticas poseídas por ecologistas políticos nos hacen particularmente calificados para evaluar, reconfigurar y emplear a las regiones y a las designaciones regionales en nuestras investigaciones; aplicaciones que esperamos que informen a políticas más precisas, matizadas, y socialmente justas.

A l’occasion de chaque élection, les cartes sont redistribuées. Des partis perdent, d’autres gagnent. Rapidement des conclusions sont tirées des résultats pour mettre en évidence ce que les électeurs ont voulu signifier précisément. Pourtant, peu après un scrutin, nous n’en savons guère sur ce qui s’est véritablement joué. Qui a voté pour quel parti ? Qui a changé de parti à cette occasion ? Pourquoi un électeur a-t-il opté pour tel(s) parti(s) et pas pour d’autres ? Sur quelles bases se sont opérés les choix ?



Ces questions peuvent être traitées sur la base d’une enquête, où un échantillon représentatif de la population électorale se voit soumettre un jeu complet de questions. Cet ouvrage présente les résultats d’une enquête de ce type menée à l’occasion des scrutins régionaux de juin 2009, en Flandre et en Wallonie. Réalisée dans le cadre du réseau scientifique PARTIREP, associant l’Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), la Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), l’Université d’Anvers et la KU Leuven, soutenu par la Politique scientifique fédérale, il décrit et explique la voix et le choix du peuple. Ces voix s’expriment parfois nettement en faveur du changement. Pour autant, les électeurs ne sont pas vraiment capricieux. Le contexte socio-économique et un certain nombre d’opinions sur l’homme et la société anticipent dans une large mesure les votes des citoyens en faveur des partis qui se disputent leurs suffrages. Les résultats de l’enquête révèlent la faiblesse du thème communautaire dans le choix des électeurs flamands et wallons, et les partis fixés sur ces thématiques engrangent des voix bien au-delà des segments électoraux qui lui portent une forte attention : en particulier, les électeurs méfiants envers le système politique. Paradoxalement pourtant, la méfiance est plus grande en Wallonie qu’en Flandre, mais les électeurs y trouvent beaucoup moins qu’en Flandre des partis porteurs de cette méfiance et surfant sur le populisme.



Ce livre examine en détail l’impact possible de la suppression du vote obligatoire, la façon dont les citoyens discutent de la politique, les raisons qui mènent au vote de préférence, l’expression des attentes des électeurs envers leurs représentants de même que l’attitude envers les services rendus par les responsable politiques. A partir d’une enquête de grande envergure menée en trois temps, ce livre offre des réponses exceptionnellement précises sur l’essence et les ressorts du comportement électoral en Wallonie et en Flandre.

"Índice
Agradecimientos

1. Introducción a la cuestión regional en la uE
Jorge Tuñón

2. De la declaración de la ARE sobre el regionalismo en Europa al tratamiento de la subsidiariedad en el Tratado de Lisboa
Santiago Petschen

3. La política regional de la uE: en diálogo con los estados y las regiones
Eric Dufeil

4. La problemática sobre la europeización y la acción exterior de las regiones y CCAA en la uE
César Colino


5. Regions and welfare expaanion in the EU
Luis Moreno

6. la interrelación de CCAA, Estado y uE en inmigración
José Antonio Montilla

7. los retos políticos de la inmigración en España, Andalucía y la Comunidad de Madrid: sobre las filosofías públicas para la integración
Elisa Brey

8. Inclusion and local development. Challenges for local and regional government
Matthias Schulze

9. la política española de cooperación para el desarrollo.
Javier Roldán

10. la cohesión territorial: nuevo mandato del tratado
Alberto Allende

11. la uE y el crecimiento económico de las regiones españolas (2000-2013)
Antonio González Temprano

12. El apoyo de los Fondos Europeos a las regiones en el periodo 2007-2013. Impulso al desarrollo, la innovación y la modernización del tejido productivo
Antonio Valverde

13. El papel de la administración general del Estado en la acción exterior de las CCAA en la uE: pasado, presente y futuro
Sergio Cuesta

14. Las CCAA y el control parlamentario del principio de subsidiariedad de los proyectos de los actos legislativos europeos: primeros pasos
Fernando Domínguez

15. El papel de las reformas estatutarias en el proceso de europeización de las CCAA
Ana Carmona

16. Andalucía y la uE; el planteamiento del Estatuto de Autonomía de 2007
Miguel Agudo

17. Regions and subsidiarity within the model of multilevel governance.
Michael Scheneider

18. la activación europea de la CCAA de Andalucía
Jorge Tuñón

19. la delegación de la Junta de Andalucía en Bruselas
Nicolás Cuesta

20. the role of regions in delivering europe 2020 strategy
Danuta Hübner

21. Consideraciones conclusivas acerca de los escenarios de las regiones en la uE ........................ 242
Jorge Tuñón
los autores .................................................................................................................................. 253"

Kommunikasjon, kontaktar og nettverk er viktige trekk ved dagens samfunn, der menneske, ressursar, gjenstandar og idear spreier seg over store avstandar. Også i fortidige samfunn var det kontaktar og samhandling på ulike nivå, lokalt, regionalt og overregionalt – dvs. på tvers av regionar – både direkte og gjennom ulike nettverk. Det er ikkje alltid lett å spore historisk kjende regionar og grenser i eit arkeologisk materiale. Ved å trekkje inn ulike typar regionar definerte gjennom ulike kjeldekategoriar ønsker eg å problematisere og diskutere regionsperspektivet. Eit viktig spørsmål er i kva grad omgrep som ‘region’ og ‘regionalitet’ er eigna i analysar av ulike former for samhandling i mellomalderen. Korleis kan desse omgrepa
vere nyttige innfallsvinklar i arkeologiske analysar på ulikt geografisk nivå? Artikkelen har fokus på kontaktar og kommunikasjon mellom lokalsamfunn og regionar i mellomalderens Skandinavia, ca. 1000–1500 e.Kr., med enkelte døme frå vikingtid. Eksempel er hovudsakleg
frå Noreg, men danske område blir òg trekte fram. Sentrale spørsmål er i kva grad distribusjonsmønster av arkeologisk materiale vitnar om regionale og overregionale kontaktar, og i kva grad likskapar og ulikskapar i den materielle kulturen indikerer ulike regionar frå
ein materiell synsstad. Målet er å sjå i kva grad ulike kjeldetypar samsvarar eller divergerer, og i kva grad arkeologiske kjelder kastar nytt lys i slike studiar.

The aim of this chapter is a review of the literature concerning regional interventions conducted within regional policy.  The first part of the chapter presents different political, social and economic arguments opting for the introduction of regional
policy.  is is followed by a presentation of a wide range of instruments used within regional policy or other economic and social policies at the regional level. Various classifcations proposed by researchers are presented, as well as the reasons, causes, and potential efects of their implementation.  The next part deals with the concept of decentralisation of power within regional policy.  Then the potential positive and negative efects of regional policy are studied in the field of labour and capital, market, infrastructure, and innovation.  is is followed by a presentation of a new approach and new paradigm of regional policy put forth in recent years. In order to present a balanced and wide overview of the theoretical aspects of regional policy, the final part of the chapter consists of a description of arguments against regional policy. The text is a review of the literature of distinguished researchers, supplemented by some of the author’s own critical remarks and opinions. In order to ensure the clarity, thematic unity, precision and correct presentation of the various approaches to regional policy, the chapter has been prepared using original statements, phrases
and words from 60 original publications (articles in journals and chapters in books).

Questo volume analizza i processi di riorganizzazione territoriale delle politiche sociali in Italia con particolare attenzione alla dimensione regionale che, dal 2001, ha assunto un nuovo rilievo costituzionale. Il tema viene affrontato ripercorrendo le trasformazioni degli obiettivi di policy, dei rapporti inter-istituzionali e della crescente complessità delle reti di attori pubblici e privati che intervengono nella formazione e attuazione delle politiche di welfare. L’analisi degli strumenti di policy adottati a livello regionale e nazionale, ma anche l’utilizzo di più metodologie tra loro complementari, ha permesso di evidenziare una preoccupante frammentazione istituzionale. Tale frammentazione si somma al tradizionale differenziale territoriale Nord-Sud, senza che si profilino adeguate risposte sistemiche né all’interno delle Regioni, né nei rapporti fra Stato e Regioni.

The territorial transformations driven by the opening of the Chilean economy to the free market forty years ago have been analyzed from multiple perspectives. One of them was proposed in 2003 by Antonio Daher, describing certain regions as “commodi- ty-regions”, referring to those whose economic activity focuses on the export of one or two goods, as a way of insertion in global markets. In this work we revisit this concept and problematize it from the perspective of political ecology, based on four dimensions (pro- duction, boom and crisis cycles, materiality of commoditized nature, and identity) applied to two cases: Antofagasta Region (mining of the copper) and Los Lagos Region (salmon farming). Our argument is that, to understand the territorial transformation that these regions have experienced, we must  rst recognize the project of territorial neoliberalization; and second, politicize the analysis of the project by considering the materiality of nature that will be commoditized.

The article is devoted to the development of paradiplomacy in Western Europe and North America. The author reveals the concept of paradiplomacy and compares it with the trans-border regional cooperation (TbRC) in Russia. In the

article author gives and describes all forms of TbRC. The research is based on a comparative analysis which defines the advantages and disadvantages of each form of TbRC. As a result, the author makes his own definition of paradiplomacy, which combines all the previous approaches.

A reflexão sobre o serviço público de rádio e de televisão insere-se num cam-po de discussão muito mais extenso e que se inter-relaciona com outros domínios e contextos da sociedade contemporânea. São vários os autores que consideram que o serviço público está em crise e que é crucial encontrar soluções que possam contrariar este cenário, fortemente influenciado pelas leis do mercado bem como pelas políticas definidas para o setor dos media, quer a nível nacional quer a nível europeu. Daí que seja de crucial importância continuar a investigar e a aprofundar o conhecimento sobre esta temática. O serviço público encerra em si responsabilidades sociais, assentes em princípios e valores que lhe são exigidos e que são o fundamento da sua essên-cia e a sustentação da sua existência. A cobertura das diferentes regiões nacio-nais é uma das suas obrigações, especialmente num país que se caracteriza por acentuadas assimetrias regionais de ordem diversa e evidentes em quase todos os domínios da vida pública. Este artigo, que integra uma investigação mais abrangente e cujo principal ob-jetivo é a caracterização da informação diária de âmbito regional difundida nos principais canais da televisão e rádio públicas nacionais, procura refletir sobre a relação que existe entre regiões e serviço público, bem como o papel deste último em matérias de diversidade, pluralismo e proximidade.