What is "regionalism"

1878, originally of Italy, "tendency toward regional loyalties" (opposed to nationalism), from regional + -ism. As "a word or phrase of local use" is from 1953.

n. 1 Affection, often excessive, to one's own region and to everything related to it. 2 Political tendency to concede forms of politico-administrative autonomy to regions. 3 (context countable linguistics English) A word or phrase originating in, characteristic of, or limited to a region.

1. n. a feature (as a pronunciation or expression or custom) that is characteristic of a particular region

2. a foreign policy that defines the international interests of a country in terms of particular geographic areas

3. loyalty to the interests of a particular region

In politics, regionalism is a political ideology that focuses on the notional or normative interests of a particular region, group of regions or another subnational entity. These may be delineated by political divisions, administrative divisions, cultural boundaries, linguistic regions, and religious geography, among others.

Regionalists aim at increasing the political power and influence available to all or some residents of a region. Regionalist demands occur in "strong" forms, such as sovereignty, separatism, secession, and independence, as well as more moderate campaigns for greater autonomy (such as states' rights, decentralization, or devolution).

Regionalists, in the strict sense of the term, favor confederations over unitary nation states with strong central governments. They may, however, espouse also intermediate forms of federalism.

Proponents of regionalism usually claim that strengthening the governing bodies and political powers within a region, at the expense of a central, national government, will benefit local populations by improving regional or local economies, in terms of better fiscal responsibility, regional development, allocation of resources, implementation of local policies and plans, competitiveness among regions and, ultimately, the whole country. For some of its opponents regionalism is associated with particularism or anti- universalism, while for others it is a rival form of nationalism.

In international relations, regionalism is the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation and implementation of institutions that express a particular identity and shape collective action within a geographical region. Regionalism is one of the three constituents of the international commercial system (along with multilateralism and unilateralism).

The first coherent regional initiatives began in the 1950s and 1960s, but they accomplished little, except in Western Europe with the establishment of the European Community. Some analysts call these initiatives "old regionalism". In the late 1980s, a new bout of regional integration (also called "new regionalism") began and continues still . A new wave of political initiatives prompting regional integration took place worldwide during the last two decades. Regional and bilateral trade deals have also mushroomed after the failure of the Doha round .

The European Union can be classified as a result of regionalism. The idea that lies behind this increased regional identity is that as a region becomes more economically integrated, it will necessarily become politically integrated as well. The European example is especially valid in this light, as the European Union as a political body grew out of more than 40 years of economic integration within Europe. The precursor to the EU, the European Economic Community (EEC) was entirely an economic entity.

American Regionalism is an American realist modern art movement that included paintings, murals, lithographs, and illustrations depicting realistic scenes of rural and small town America primarily in the midwest and deep south. It arose in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression, and ended in the 1940s due to the end of World War II and a lack of development within the movement. It reached its height of popularity from 1930 to 1935 because it was widely appreciated for its reassuring images of the American heartland during the Great Depression. Despite major stylistic differences between specific Regionalist artists, Regionalist art in general was in a relatively conservative and traditionalist style that appealed popular American sensibilities, while strictly opposing the perceived domination of French art.

Regionalism may refer to:

• Regionalism (art), an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s
• Regionalism (international relations), the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation and implementation of institutions that express a particular identity and shape collective action within a geographical region
• Regionalism (politics), a political ideology that focuses on the interests of a particular region or group of regions, whether traditional or formal
• Critical regionalism, in architecture, an approach that strives to counter placelessness and lack of identity in modern architecture by using the building's geographical context
• A word that is limited to a certain dialect