Political leaders as agents in regional development

Bibliographic Data

ID7366578
AuthorsGiuseppe Calignano (0000-0002-6885-768X, corresponding author), Trond Nilsen (0000-0003-2805-9971)
Year2024
Volume11
Issue1
Pages479-495
Publication date2024-08-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRegional Studies Regional Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2168-1376 • E-ISSN: 2168-1376
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/21681376.2024.2378780
OpenAlexW4401269953
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited35

The study of agency has received increasing attention in recent years. The focus on change processes at the micro-level has brought new insights into the field of regional development. However, in debates about change and regional development, agents and leaders themselves have received far less attention than agency as a process. We provide an analytical model to show how political leaders and their leadership act as drivers of change through what we call actor properties (i.e., knowledge, networks and resources). We discuss how actor properties interact with the institutional context in which leaders operate and the various transitions from a political leader's legitimacy to the legacy of their political action. Empirical investigations of two peripheral regions in Italy and Norway illustrate how political leaders act as agents of change in geographical areas characterised by different socioeconomic and institutional contexts

Agency (philosophy · Context (archaeology · Geography · Legitimacy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Management and Organizational Studies · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Capital and Networks

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access