Rune Dahl Fitjar – författare

During the past 40 years, regions have become increasingly important in Western Europe both as units of government and as sources for political mobilization.

This book examines why regional identities are stronger in some regions than in others, and why regional elites attempt to mobilize the public on a regionalist agenda at certain points in time. The author develops a model that explains change across space as well as time and provides a comprehensive discussion of the causes of regionalism. It focuses on endogenous developments in the regions and on change across time in the economic and political landscapes of the regions. Using a quantitative study of 212 Western European regions, which examine whether regionalism is related to cultural, economic and political characteristics of the regions, the book builds a model of the causes of regionalism. The issues are further explored through case studies on Scotland (UK) and Rogaland (Norway).

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political and social sciences, especially those with an interest in regions, regionalism and regional nationalism, Scottish politics, Norwegian politics, territorial identities and territorial politics.

During the past 40 years, regions have become increasingly important in Western Europe both as units of government and as sources for political mobilization.

This book examines why regional identities are stronger in some regions than in others, and why regional elites attempt to mobilize the public on a regionalist agenda at certain points in time. The author develops a model that explains change across space as well as time and provides a comprehensive discussion of the causes of regionalism. It focuses on endogenous developments in the regions and on change across time in the economic and political landscapes of the regions. Using a quantitative study of 212 Western European regions, which examine whether regionalism is related to cultural, economic and political characteristics of the regions, the book builds a model of the causes of regionalism. The issues are further explored through case studies on Scotland (UK) and Rogaland (Norway).

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political and social sciences, especially those with an interest in regions, regionalism and regional nationalism, Scottish politics, Norwegian politics, territorial identities and territorial politics.

In the global economy, regional development and innovation are increasingly an imperative to increase the competitive edge of EU economies. While European regions are different in many ways, the innovation capacity of regions, clusters and firms is what makes them capable of building up new and diversified pathways for sustainable growth.

For this reason, Innovation Drivers and Regional Innovation Strategies looks to analyze different knowledge drivers (e.g. entrepreneurial or policy-orientation; scientific and practice-based knowledge modes; institutional innovation support) that influence the innovative and competitive capacity of regions, clusters and firms in Europe. The aim of this volume is to develop an in-depth understanding of these drivers and their implications for the way in which regional and cluster growth may be upgraded.

Innovation Drivers and Regional Innovation Strategies examines the construction of new innovation pathways for regions and clusters in different geographical contexts. The main themes are cluster evolution, regional innovation systems and business innovation modes and capabilities. The objectives are centred on exploring the logic and mechanisms that can be activated as a means to promote innovation and competitiveness within regions and, within these, across and within firms.

Aimed at researchers and academics in the field, this is a thoughtful and innovative new volume that helps define the academic debate.