Definition of "regionalism" [regionalism]

• Political division of an area into partially autonomous regions. (noun)
• Advocacy of such a political system. (noun)
• Loyalty to the interests of a particular region. (noun)
• A feature, such as an expression, a pronunciation, or a custom, that is characteristic of a geographic area. (noun)
• The use of regional characteristics, as of locale, custom, or speech, in literature or art. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""We use the term regionalism and we need to spell out the powers, duties and functions of regional authorities after which the academics can argue whether the system is a federation or not."
• "In positive term regionalism embodies quest for self-identity and self-fulfilment on the part of the people of an area."
• "Jackson, a history professor at the University of Wales at Swansea, has written about the Popular Front years and knows, for instance, that the interest in regionalism and folklore, and the campaigns — so dear to Vichy ideologues — to carry culture to the masses, date back to the 1920s and 1930s, if not long before that."