Anticipating regional futures? The promises, prospects and pitfalls of the Basque Model

Calzada, Igor, Beel, David, Thompson, Matthew, Jones, Ian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1682-9134 and Jones, Martin 2026. Anticipating regional futures? The promises, prospects and pitfalls of the Basque Model. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society , rsag038. 10.1093/cjres/rsag038

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Abstract

Over the past three decades, the Basque Country has been celebrated as a balanced and inclusive model of regional development. Yet the compounding pressures of a global polycrisis—climate change, geopolitical turbulence, digital disruption and democratic backsliding—now expose its limits. This paper examines how institutions, policymakers and activists confront these challenges through anticipatory governance and contested development pathways. Drawing on 2024 fieldwork, we argue that the Basque Model illustrates both the promises and pitfalls of hybrid strategies that selectively adapt emergent imaginaries of the future. The case highlights broader lessons for rethinking anticipatory regional development in uncertain and polarised times.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Schools > School of Social and Spatial Sciences Research Institutes & Centres > Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD)
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	1752-1378
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 October 2026
Date of Acceptance:	29 June 2026
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2026 08:07
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/190285

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