Regionalism and Insularity in Contemporary Europe

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Objectives

The unit seeks, firstly, to explore the emergence and consolidation of regionalism and autonomy in Europe, comparing and contrasting the structural concepts of regionalism and regionalization. Secondly, to promote the knowledge of Azorean regionalism, inserting it in European context. Thirdly, to expose students to the mechanisms developed in the European Union, for the access of the Regions to the concrete exercise of political power, at the domestic, regional and national levels, as well as at the European and international levels. We search, in this manner, to raise their awareness to the new pulverization of power operated throughout Europe, as well as to the roles that, understood as true political agents, the Regions can fulfill at the national, European and international scales. Finally, the discipline seeks to enable the students to promote an exercise of guided research and writing of a research paper on an autonomous European region on a European regional organism.

Program

I. General Introduction; II. Regionalism, Insularity and Community Construction; III. Perspectives of Insularity, Models of Regionalism; IV. Regionalism and Insularity in Europe; V. Regionalism and autonomy: the Greek framework and the Medieval and Muslim experiences; VI. The sovereign unitary State and Europe of the States; VII. Resurgence of the regional idea in Europe: from the Aaland islands to the Scottish question; VIII. Regionalism and autonomy in Portugal. Construction of the Portuguese State, regional insular autonomy and regionalization of the mainland; IX. Regionalism Autonomy and European Integration; X. Europe of the States, Europe of the Regions, Europe with the Regions; XI. Autonomy, Politics and International Relations: Regional Paradiplomacy, in the European Union and in the world; XII. From the Treaties of Paris and Rome to the Treaty of Lisbon; XIII. From inter-regional cooperation to the association of the regions to the European process; XIV. Conclusion

Teaching Methodologies

The teaching activities for the curricular unit unfold along three major lines: theoretical classes, of presentation of concepts, arguments and theories; theoretical and practical classes dedicated to questioning, analyzing, exploring and commenting of selected texts and the respective nuclear contents; tutorials, for the orientation of the work developed by the students, individually and in groups. An interactive methodology, centered on the student is adopted. Throughout the semester we proceed with the construction of explanatory schemes of the concepts, theories and issues addressed.

Bibliography

Carlos E. Pacheco Amaral, ed. Autonomie régionale et relations internationales, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2011;

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯,”Decentralisation and asymmetries in Portugal”, in Ferran Requejo, and Klaus Jurgen Nagel, eds., Federalism Beyond Federations. Asymmetry and Processes of Resymmetrisation in Europe, London, Ashgate, 2010;

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯, “Constituição Europeia e Europa das Regiões”, in O Direito, nº 137, Vol. IV-V, Lisboa, 2005;

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯, Do Estado soberano ao estado das autonomias, Porto, Afrontamento, 1998;

Amaral, João Bosco Mota, O desafio insular, Ponta Delgada, Signo, 1989;

Barros, James, The Aland Islands question: its settlement by the League of Nations, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1968;

Leite, José Guilherme Reis, Sobre a autonomia dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Signo, 1990;

Hache, Jean Didier, coord., Quel statut pour les îles d’Europe? Paris, Harmattan, 2000;

Keating, Michael, The New Regionalism in Western Europe, Cheltenham, U.K., Northampton, MA. USA, Edward Elgar, 1998.

Code

0103049

ECTS Credits

6

Classes

  • Teóricas - 30 hours
  • Teórico-Práticas - 30 hours

Evaluation Methodology

  • Frequency: 45%
  • Participation in the classroom activities: 10%
  • Research paper to be presented and defended in the classroom: 45%