Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Handle: RePEc:ida:wpaper:WP2604
Number: WP2604
Creation-Date: 2026-01-28
Length: 24 pages
File-URL: https://repec.ideagov.eu/RePEc/ida/wpaper/WP2604.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
File-Function: First version, 2026

Title: Perceptions of legitimacy in asymmetric decentralisation: evidence from Spain
Abstract: This article examines the conditions under which asymmetric decentralisation arrangements that grant enhanced powers to minority-nationalist regions sustain or undermine the legitimacy of the territorial model among the remaining regions, drawing on evidence from Spain. While much scholarship has focused on how asymmetry accommodates minority regions and mitigates secessionist pressures, this study highlights the role of ‘standard regions’. Based on elite interviews in Andalusia, Extremadura, Murcia and the Valencian Community, contextualised with survey data, the findings indicate that asymmetry loses acceptance when it is seen as opaque, system-weakening or generating distributive grievances. Under these conditions, asymmetry risks fuelling renewed territorial tensions rather than fostering stability.

Classification-JEL: H70, H77, H10, H30
Keywords: asymmetric decentralisation, fiscal federalism, intergovernmental relations, territorial politics, minority nationalism, Spanish politics

Author-Name: Caroline Gray
Author-Name-First: Caroline
Author-Name-Last: Gray