The Role of Regulatory Modes in Regional Governance: Insights from the Delrio Reform in Italy

This study tests Patrizia Messina’s regulatory modes theory to explain the uneven implementation of top-down reforms at the regional level, using Italy’s Delrio reform (National Law 56/2014) as a case study. The reform, intended to streamline administrative layers by eliminating provinces, resulted in uneven governance systems across regions due to the failure of a constitutional referendum. The Delrio reform provides a unique opportunity to test Messina’s theory in the context of top-down reform under fiscal stress and regional diversity conditions. This paper compares reform implementation in Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, demonstrating how distinct regional institutional cultures influenced the application of the reform. The time frame under analysis formally includes the institutional status of the regions from 2014 to 2021, which includes five territorial reforms. This research analyzes 41 expert interviews to highlight the theory’s explanatory power in understanding the complexities of regional governance and the challenges of implementing institutional innovation in diverse political contexts.