Regions –political, geographic, cultural –help to define a nation. There is a longstanding public, academic and governmental recognition that regionalism is an important aspect of national identity. Despite that importance, all countries experience regional disparities to greater or lesser degrees. Participatory democracy, values of localism, co-operativism, grassroots activism and decision-making that flows bottom-up are slow to inform public policy initiatives.

Regional development experiences have generated a wide array of theoretical approaches addressing regional disparity and informing public policy. Doing Development Differently documents interventions that challenge established patterns of development on both sides of the Atlantic, in the Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island) and Ireland.

Susan Hodgett is at the School of Sociology and Applied Social Studies at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, where she is also Director of Canadian Studies Research Program. David Johnson is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Cape Breton University. Stephan Royle is Reader in Geography at Queen’s University Belfast and Director of the Centre of Canadian Studies

Susan Hodgett's profile page

David Johnson, a professor of political science at Cape Breton University, has studied and taught Canadian politics, government, and the constitution for over thirty years. He is the author of Thinking Government: Public Administration and Politics in Canada, 4th ed, a leading university textbook. His columns appear regularly in the Cape Breton Post. He lives in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

David Johnson's profile page

Steven Royle's profile page