The event was held at the University of Valencia on January 20

On January 20, 2025, at 11 a.m., the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Valencia (UV) hosted the defense of Guillem Ninyoles’ doctoral thesis, titled “The Political Impact of the Great Recession at the Regional Level. Comparative Study of Nine Cases in Latin Europe”, supervised by Rafael Castelló and Oscar Barberà from the University of Valencia (UV).

The doctoral thesis analyzes the transformations resulting from the Great Recession in nine regions of three Latin European countries (France, Spain, Italy). To this end, nine regions of Latin Europe are compared. The impact is studied in the areas of party systems, governmental formations, and regional structures (territory and self-government), and in the short, medium, and long term.

The theoretical framework of the research revolves around two pillars: the literature related to regions, and that dedicated to crises. A typology of regions is developed with three different categories according to the distance of the regions from the center. Distance is understood in geographical and belonging terms. Central regions are those located in the center and those closest to it, peripheral regions 1 are those at a medium distance from the center, and peripheral regions 2 are those furthest from it.

The analytical tool used is process tracing based on narration. The empirical analysis consists of two stages, one within the case and the other between cases. In the first stage, the political outcomes of the recession in each case (region) are reconstructed and analyzed, while in the second stage, those outcomes are compared. The comparison is twofold: first, it is established between regions of the same state, and then between regions of the same category. Similar patterns are identified among the outcomes of the central regions, and also among those of the peripheral regions 2. In contrast, the outcomes of the peripheral regions 1 are the least coherent as a whole.

The main conclusion of the research is that the political outcomes of the Great Recession had a different translation depending on whether we adopt a state or regional perspective. Identifying similar political outcomes among regions integrated into different states demonstrates the usefulness of overcoming state-centric analytical approaches.

The evaluation committee was composed of distinguished academics: Juan Rodríguez Teruel (UV), Gemma Ubasart (UdG), and Patricia Correa (Aston University, UK). The committee awarded Guillem Ninyoles the grade of excellent, highlighting the relevance and originality of his work.

Reference

Ninyoles, G. (2025) L'impacte polític de la Gran Recessió a nivell regional. Estudi comparat de nou casos de l'Europa Llatina. València: Universitat de València (Tesi Doctoral).