Palabras clave
Federalismo, descentralización, ordenamiento territorial, autonomías, subsidiariedad.
Resumen
Los cambios en Europa de fines del s. XX y comienzos del s. XXI referidos al ordenamiento territorial, han generado una crisis de conceptos. A la luz de tres conceptos alternativos —autonomía entendida como autolegislación, cualidad gubernativa territorial y macroestructuración territorial del Estado— se revisan las novedades de las reformas territoriales contemporáneas en España, Italia, Alemania, Francia y Gran Bretaña. Se ha constatado que el fenómeno de la autolegislación territorial es el eje de la estructuración territorial al punto de poder sustituirse la dupla corriente pero confusa de los «unitario vs. lo federal» por aquella entre lo simple vs. lo compuesto. Finalmente, se concluye que dentro del Estado compuesto germina una variante basada ya no sólo en los niveles nacional e intermedio (la vía federal y del «Estado de las autonomías» español), sino incorporando con igual peso constitucional al nivel local.
Keywords
Federalism, decentralisation, territorial models, autonomies, subsidiarity.
Abstract
In the last decades Europe has seen changes pertaining to devolution and regional
governance that has led to a crisis in the very concept of decentralisation. Using a new interpretation of three selected concepts —autonomy, sub-national Statehood and territorial macro-structuration— the territorial reforms in Spain, Italy, ermany, France and Great Britain are analysed. Autonomy appears to be the most sensitive parameter, as far as we understand it as law making power. Based on this approach we can substitute the current but misleading antagonist coupling of the concepts unitary vs. federal with a new division of simple vs. composed. Finally it is shown that a new version of the composite State seems to consolidate where the municipal level attains the same constitutional weight as the national and the intermediate level, diverging from both the federal and the Spanish autonomic path.
governance that has led to a crisis in the very concept of decentralisation. Using a new interpretation of three selected concepts —autonomy, sub-national Statehood and territorial macro-structuration— the territorial reforms in Spain, Italy, ermany, France and Great Britain are analysed. Autonomy appears to be the most sensitive parameter, as far as we understand it as law making power. Based on this approach we can substitute the current but misleading antagonist coupling of the concepts unitary vs. federal with a new division of simple vs. composed. Finally it is shown that a new version of the composite State seems to consolidate where the municipal level attains the same constitutional weight as the national and the intermediate level, diverging from both the federal and the Spanish autonomic path.