Building regions on economic success: Prosperity and regionalism in Rogaland

Abstract

This article presents a political economy perspective on the growth of regionalism in Rogaland, where ever more political issues have been viewed through a regional lens over the last fifteen years. Rogaland has also experienced an economic boom since the 1970s, when it became the hub of Norway's oil adventures in the North Sea. The question is whether these developments are connected, and more specifically, whether the newfound economic prosperity can explain the growth of regionalism. After discussing the main political economy theories of regionalism, the capacity of each theory in explaining the developments in the case at hand is assessed. In particular, the article presents the theoretical argument behind the idea that economic prosperity could lead to regionalism, referring to cases such as Catalonia, Slovenia and Northern Italy. The growth of regionalism in Rogaland is demonstrated by a quantitative content analysis study, which shows that the growth in regionalism corresponds closely to the economic growth over the period 1960-2000. This leads to the conclusion that economic prosperity is the best explanation for the developments in Rogaland. The article then goes on to show specifically how the region's economic prosperity has been applied by political elites in the creation of a regionalist discourse, with examples of how regional elites have been using the region's prosperity in discussions over infrastructure investments, government representation and regional government. © 2006 Nordic Political Science Association.