On the Institutional Origins of Regional Political Cultures Across Spain
Abstract: Spain today presents a geographically concentrated distribution of societal traits that are related to political participation. This paper examines the historical origins of those regional patterns. The thesis here is that, before the unification processes of the 18th and 19th centuries, regions followed substantially distinctive political paths leading to the current disparities. The characterization of the political trajectories draws on the regional legal histories, with specific focus on the experiences of municipal autonomy in the High Middle Ages and the levels of constraints on the executive in the Modern Age. The regions that historically experienced more inclusive political systems exhibit currently higher levels of political culture of participation. The empirical evidence for this thesis is found at regional and individual level.
