Resistance to the deinstitutionalization of a region: Borders, identity and activism in a municipality merger

Regions are contested processes in which various layers of borders become articulated, deconstructed and reconstructed by both activists and advocates. While many scholars currently tend to highlight the relational character of spaces, this study - acknowledging that seeing regions as relational or territorial is a highly contextual matter - emphasizes the territorial approach by stressing the multiple layers of borders and how they help to constitute and nurture regional identity. Focusing on deinstitutionalization of a region, it is argued here that regional restructuring can trigger activism, as proved by the activist movement at issue in the case study. This case study of a merger between two municipalities in Finland illustrates that when threatened with integration, (old) regions seem to be of especial importance as bordered territories of identification. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.