EUROCORES_ECRP_Citizenship after the Nation-State

The cross-national, collaborative research project on Citizenship after the Nation-State (CANS) will explore through systematic comparative survey research in 21 regions in 7 European states the extent to which citizenship - as manifested in political participation and social solidarity - has become "denationalised" or regionalised, that is rescaled at the regional level. It tests competing theoretical explanations for the regionalisation of citizenship based around variables of regional identity, the powers of regional government, and regional economic disparity. The originality of the collaborative project lies in challenging a "methodological nationalism" which continues to shape and limit the questions posed by social science around a model of nation-statehood a focus in regional politics research on a narrow group of "usual suspects" (Bavaria, Catalonia, Flanders, Quebec, Scotland) The significance of the Austrian contribution to CANS is twofold: First, there has never been any attempt systematically to map out regional political attitudes in Austria, in part reflecting a tradition of federalism focused primarily on delivering a high degree of coordination of national policy standards. And yet we know that the regional units in Austria have long political traditions, most predating the creation of federal Austria. In addition, over the last decade there appears to have been a politicisation of the regional scale, in part as a response to wide regional economic disparities, which has prompted discussions on the reform of the federal system to give the Länder more decision-making powers, and a growing appeal of political parties to regional identities. Second, Austria, alongside Germany, is one of two long-established federal states in the CANS project. It provides an opportunity to understand better the impact of a federal government on the regionalisation of citizenship.