The Europeanisation of Sub-national Politics: Institutional Change in Andalucía and Catalonia

In considering the impact of the process of European integration upon the structure of the state, it is important to consider that this impact may have had uneven consequences within the state itself. This is particularly important in cases where the structure of the domestic political system includes a highly asymmetrical system of sub-national authorities with varying degrees of self-government. The equation is complicated even more by the presence of nationalist movements influencing the national and sub-national policy making processes. In encompassing the theme of how states are adapting to the process of European integration, this study seeks to analyse how institutions at the sub-national level are adjusting to the Europeanisation of the policy-making process by comparing two Spanish autonomous communities : Andalucía and Catalonia. From a policy perspective, analysing each region’s position within the Spanish State of Autonomies is crucial in understanding the effects the process of European integration has had on their institutional capacity. More importantly, the inherent ambiguity of the 1978 Spanish Constitution and the unfinished devolution process begun with the Statutes of Autonomy have resulted in a complex policy-making process characterised by constant political negotiations between the state and sub-national authorities. Each autonomous community has sought to accommodate demands posed from both the process of European integration and the particularities of the Spanish State of Autonomies in its own way. This study proposes to explain the differing reasons behind these processes of institutional change by comparing the cases of Andalucía and Catalonia.