ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 discussed different indicators pointing towards growing levels of regionalism in Rogaland between 1960 and 2000. This was demonstrated both through a quantitative content analysis and through references to political developments reflecting a politicization of the region. The rise of regionalism covaried with regional economic growth and increasing globalization, while the regional party system became less distinctive in this period. This chapter examines each of the variables in the model of regionalism – cultural distinctiveness, globalization, European integration, party systems and economic development – analysing to what extent they are useful in explaining the observed growth of regionalism in Rogaland. It argues that the massive economic growth that took place in Rogaland after the region emerged as Norway’s oil capital in the early 1970s created the conditions for a mobilization of regional identities in the region. As the region became richer, the incentives to mobilize on a regional basis grew, and the discourse on local grievances over shortfalls in public investments assumed greater resonance in regional public opinion.
