Bulletin n. 1/2006
May 2006
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Myant Martin, Smith Simon
    Regional development and post-communist politics in a Czech region
    in Europe-Asia Studies , Volume 58, Number 2 / March 2006 ,  2006 ,  147 - 168
    This article links post-communist politics with regional development through an investigation of the formulation of strategic plans at various levels. This is an important activity for compliance with procedures essential to accessing EU financial support, and beyond that, it has significance for the investigation of political relationships. The dominant conclusion is that the communist period and the post-communist transformation left distinctive features that created barriers to the emergence of the ‘standard’ EU pattern and therefore justifies continued use of the ‘post-communist’ label. In particular, this is exhibited in a disjointed structure of regional and local administration with weak cooperation between levels. EU prescriptions and involvement have in some respects accentuated the isolation of levels from each other. This article argues that the standard interpretation of the concepts of social capital and partnership needs to be clarified. Above all, it becomes clear that there needs to be recognition and acceptance of the conflicting nature of many relationships and of the bargaining and compromises lying behind a regional strategy and its implementation. The article thereby adds to the literature that has warned against some over-enthusiastic interpretations of social capital and related concepts as providing an unambiguous basis for a region's development.
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