The EU and Territorial Politics within Member States - Conflict or Co-operation?

The EU and Territorial Politics Within Member States examines whether European integration helps or hinders the resolution of domestic territorial conflicts, including conflict between national groups, between territorially-based political parties or communities and different levels of political authority. The research draws on a wide range of case studies – from Germany, Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Ireland and Italy. The studies suggest EU institutional rules altering the balance of power between central and regional elites (as in Germany) and/or different national elites (as in Spain) and particular EU policies, such as enlargement in Cyprus and EU anti-terrorism policy in Spain, may create new or aggravate existing tensions within member states. However, the same EU institutional rules in different states (such as Belgium) and different policies, such as cross-border programmes in Ireland may have the opposite effect. Similarly, opportunities for re-imagining territorial identities and redefining ambitions for control over territories may in some ways help the search for means to accommodate conflicts, while in others they may help entrench territorial cleavages or reproduce old tensions.

The Domestic Politics of Regionalism and European Integration: Introduction, Angela K. Bourne The Europeanisation of Intergovernmental Co-operation and Conflict Resolution in Belgium: The Case of Agriculture, Jan Beyers, Tom Delreux and Caroline Steensels European Integration and Intra-State Relations in Germany and the United Kingdom, Rosanne Palmer Conflict and Co-operation in EU policy-making: The Case of Catalonia, Elisa Roller European Integration and Conflict Resolution in the Basque Country, Northern Ireland and Cyprus, Angela K. Bourne The Region between the State and Nation: British and Irish Conceptions of Northern Ireland as a European Region, Katy Hayward INTERREG III and Cross-Border Co-operation in the Island of Ireland, Brigid Laffan and Diane Payne European Integration and Multiple Identities: Changing Allegiances in the Post-Devolution UK?, Jenny Carl The Politics of the Northern League and Italy’s Changing Attitude Towards Europe, Benito Giordano The EU, Conflict and Co-operation within Member States: Conclusion, Angela K. Bourne List of Contributors Index