A holistic approach to regional strategies: The case of the Basque Country

Abstract

The concept of regional strategy has been imported from the field of strategic management without reflecting on its specificities. This paper offers a holistic approach, which integrates all the elements a regional strategy should take into account around three core questions regarding: the strategy objectives (‘what for?’); the strategic positioning and its bases (‘what?’); and the process of formulating the strategy (‘how?’ and ‘who?’). This framework is applied to identify and analyse the strategies developed in the Basque Country over the last 30 years. The Basque Country is of great interest as it epitomizes the experience of old industrialized European regions that were ravaged by the economic crisis of the 1970s and have since achieved a considerable economic success. It is also a good example of the dual process that has taken place in Europe, involving top-down decentralization and the transfer of powers from national to supranational institutions.