The paper has as its starting point the notion that the establishment of a regional parliamentary assembly is an integral part of region-building. Although regional assemblies may differ considerably in terms of their representative and parliamentary characteristics, they are generally thought of as bringing about common identity and democratic legitimacy ...
(Show more)The paper has as its starting point the notion that the establishment of a regional parliamentary assembly is an integral part of region-building. Although regional assemblies may differ considerably in terms of their representative and parliamentary characteristics, they are generally thought of as bringing about common identity and democratic legitimacy to a region. For example, the inter-parliamentary Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) has stated that its purpose is to initiate and guide political activities in the region and strengthen the common identity of the Baltic Sea Region. In addition, its objective is said to be to endow the region with additional democratic legitimacy and parliamentary authority. Even though inter-parliamentary assemblies have been recognized in the research on parliaments and international relations, their role in region-building processes deserves closer attention. This paper aims at discussing not only institutional settings and political powers of these ‘quasi-parliamentary’ assemblies, but also the rhetoric that has been used in their meetings. Regardless whether or not they have a considerable formalized political status or share of political power these institutions nevertheless form an important forum for the articulation of political opinion of a region that is anchored through parliamentary processes at national level.
The paper examines how the members of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference have articulated their own role as regional parliamentarians, how they have discussed the region vis-à-vis the nation state, other regional or local communities, Europe, and a global political community. In addition, attention will be paid to the rhetoric that has been used in order to give cultural and historical backing to these regions and the arguments that have in different ways questioned these attempts. A particular attention in the paper will be paid to the relationship between scholarly accounts of the region-building around the Baltic Sea and the ways in which political actors themselves have conceptualized the region. The analysis of the BSPC will also be discussed against preliminary observations of the ways in which the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and the European Parliament discuss regional identities.
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