Abstract
AbstractThis article revisits the French region of Brittany on the basis of sustained empirical research over a 25-year period. It identifies the twin use of influence and identity as forming a key part of an accepted and largely diffused territorial repertoire, based on affirming distinctiveness for reasons of vertical linkage, as well as horizontal capacity building. This article explores the different facets of this model of territorial influence. The two twin dimensions concern: first, a well-versed mechanism of lobbying central institutions and actors to defend the Breton interest; second, the use of territorial identity markers to forward the regional cause, relying on social movements and a broad capacity for regional mobilization. Within this overarching context, the Breton case demonstrates an intelligent instrumental use of identity and identity markers, but mainstream Breton forces recognize that this only makes sense in the light of the national level of regulation and structure of opportunities. The logic of this position is to integrate the Brittany region into a national model of territorial integration, while playing up identity markers to secure the maximum benefit for the region.
Highlights
This article revisits the French region of Bretagne (Brittany in English, preferred) on the basis of sustained empirical research over a 25-year period
Brittany is sometimes taken as a litmus test for the health of regional identity within France
Bretons combined a strong sense of regional (Breton) distinctiveness lay in the effectiveness of vertical lobbying efforts, and in the sometimes-instrumental use made of social mobilization to forward the regional cause
Summary
This article revisits the French region of Bretagne (Brittany in English, preferred) on the basis of sustained empirical research over a 25-year period. Taking the period as a whole, the five core word clusters identified in NVivo centre on the pertinence of the region as a level of public administration; on metropolitan political dynamics and the polycentric Breton model; on territorial capacity and economic development; on Breton culture and language and, on Brittany within the broader French and European context.
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