González Gómez, TeresaGualda, Estrella2018-09-212018-09-212016González Gómez, T., Gualda, E. (2016): “Reporting a bottom-up political process : local perceptions of cross- border cooperation in the southern Portugal–Spain region”. European Urban and Regional Studies, Vol. 23(3) 468–480. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697764135187810969-7764http://hdl.handle.net/10272/15253Beyond the national political-territorial borders in Europe, the cross-regional dimension maintains an experimental democratic character. Entities developed to foster cross- border cooperation, such as working communities and Euroregions, are conceived as mechanisms of democratisation through the decentralisation of regional or/and local governmental bodies. However, scholarly debate suggests that the top-down policy- making process that is characteristic of cross-border programmes seems to cast doubt on the fulfilment of a European participatory democracy. In this respect, the cross-border cooperation process seems to contribute to an added value to the dilemma of the European democratic deficit. The objective of this paper is to present a regional contribution to this debate through a study of local experts’ perspectives on the implementation and impact of cross-border cooperation policies in the southern Portugal-Spain border region and the possibilities for local and social participation. This paper utilises data from two related investigations in the southern cross-border area between Portugal and Spain, including qualitative interviews, focus groups, and content analysis of secondary data. The results reveal a positive attitude towards the recent regional top-down initiatives of European integration, although local experts question the potential for the inclusion of local perspectives in cross-border initiatives. Additionally, during this period of economic crisis, political contradictions may be observed, and political initiatives related to the Spanish-Portugal border may hamper the existing cross-border flows and dynamics of progressive integration. In this sense, local authorities play an important role as the nexus between transnational institutions of cross-border cooperation and the inhabitants of border regions.engAtribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 Españahttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/Cross-border cooperationEuropean integrationEuroregionLocal/social participationRegionalismDemocratic deficitjournal article10.1177/0969776413518781open access