The institutionalization of regions: a theoretical framework for understanding the emergence of regions and the constitution of regional identity

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to examine the differences between the classical categories of geographical thought, region and place, and their rela­tion to the societal context and the day‑to‑day practices of individuals. After analysing the traditional definitions of the concepts, an interpretation of the concept of region as a human and social category is put forward. The region is comprehended as a historically continuous process whose institutionaliza­tion consists of four stages: the assumption of territorial shape, the forma­tion of conceptual (symbolic) shape, the formation of institutional shape and establishment as an entity in the regional system and social consciousness of the society. As regards the concrete regions in a society, the order of these stages can vary. Institutionalization of a region is a process during which some specific level of the spatial structure becomes an established entity which is identified in different spheres of social action and conscious­ness and which is continually reproduced in individual and institutional practices (e.g. economic, political, legal, educational, cultural, etc.). The meanings of the concept 'regional identity' are also discussed as an expression of the dimensions of an institutionalized region. The nature of regional communities, regional consciousness and images of regions is discussed using the framework of the institutionalization of regions as a background.