ABSTRACT
Chapter 2, entitled ‘Analysing localism’, offers a thorough conceptual analysis of the term. ‘Localism’ implies a clear valorization of the local dimension in politics, often in opposition to the power of the state and/or the impact of globalization. Localism can be understood in both a core and a secondary sense, depending on the scale of events being described. Core localism focuses on activity at the micro scale of social and political organization. Secondary localism denotes activity at the meso scale, below the level of the sovereign state. The best framework for analysing localism is that provided by multi-level governance. Localism policy and discourse may flow from one of three power dynamics: top-down, bottom-up or collaborative. In real-world situations, two or more of these dynamics may exist alongside each other. For the purposes of political analysis, it is the mix between them that matters.
