Ireland: the Shannon Experience

Changing political norms mean that the governing role of the state now involves interaction at both supra-national and sub-national levels and with an ever-increasing array of actors. In recent years the interaction of state and society is frequently analysed in terms of governance (John 2001, Hambelton et. al. 2003, Sørensen 2006).The governance approach has led to institutional and processual change affecting, for example, the provision and redistributional roles of the state as well as the making and implementation of policies. Governance is perceived as a useful frame of analysis because it accommodates the multiplicity of issues, interests, agencies and modes of policy-making and regulation involved in governing complex polities. The governance approach has also increased the salience of the local and regional levels since they are frequently the site of intersection between the horizontal and vertical networks involved in governance (Quinn, 2007). Yet, there is debate about the classification and functions of regions and the nature and purpose of regional development. The term "region " has been variously used to describe historical, cultural, economic or political entities, thus posing problems of nomenclature, not only for academic theorists but for economists, politicians and citizens. The raisons d’être of regions are as varied as their