Beyond the Spanish State is a well researched and accessibly written study of EU policy-making in Spain. From the fishermen in Andalusia fighting to protect their quotas, to regional governments demanding a greater say in EU Structural Funds, the book represents a masterful effort to delve deeper into the dynamic relations between central government and other actors in the domestic arena. Conclusions most directly pertain to the case of Spain but, nonetheless, provide an insight into the broader EU framework.

Examines ways in which Structural Funding could be reformed to avert potential crises of uneven development within the EC.

The existence and persistence of regional disparities between European regions require context-tailored policies to promote structural change. This book explores the congruence between place-based development and regional competitiveness in the EU context. Drawing on a range of social science disciplines, this book unpicks the complexity of regional transformation processes, aiming to enhance the applicability and transferability of theoretical approaches to innovation and place-based regional development in diverse European territorial settings. The contributors have a particular focus on less-favoured regions and on the application of Smart Specialisation – a strategic approach to innovation-based regional development – to the issues at hand. The book comes at a critical moment, meeting the growing demand of academics, practitioners and policymakers with an interest in promoting regional economic growth and well-being.

In many areas of the world, environmental degradation in and around human settlements is undermining prospects for both socioeconomic justice and ecological sustainability. To explore the issues involved in this worldwide problem, Keith Pezzoli focuses on a dramatic instance of conflict that grew out of the unauthorized penetration of human settlements into the Ajusco greenbelt zone, a vital part of Mexico City's ecological reserve. The heart of the book is the story of what happened when residents of the Ajusco settlements fought relocation by proposing that the areas be transformed into productive ecology settlements. Pezzoli draws upon urban and regional planning theory and practice to examine biophysical as well as ethical and social sides of the story, and he uses the Mexican experience to identify planning strategies to link economy, ecology, and community in sustainable development. -- Publisher description.

Different survey-based and case study research has shown that, since the 1980s, minority nationalist parties have become increasingly supportive of European integration. However, this account of minority nationalist party attitudes towards Europe is problematic in several respects. This book makes a major contribution to the academic literature by undertaking a comparative study of the attitudes of minority nationalist parties towards European integration. The volume provides: A systematic analysis of the ways in which minority nationalist party attitudes towards European integration have evolved from 1979 to 2005. Original empirical data on hitherto under-researched minority nationalist parties in Wales, Galicia and Corsica. Major new insights into the European attitudes of minority nationalist parties. This book challenges the general assumption in the academic literature that the minority nationalist party family will always be pro-European and demonstrates how it needs to be revised in light of the evidence provided by this study. It will be of strong interest to students and scholars interested in minority nationalism, the Europeanisation of political parties, comparative research on regional politics and in contemporary debates about nationalism.