This dissertation will examine the thesis that the trajectories of regional politics in Western Europe can be usefully explained through the interaction of states, regional elites, and nationalist social movements. The study takes the form of case studies in three regions-- Scotland, Catalonia, and Northeast England--all of which could have mobilized for independence by the lights of most alternative theories but which instead exhibit different outcomes. The relationships of states, elites, and nationalists (when present) will be examined both in broad studies of each regions' politics since 1973 and in case studies (based on interviews and archival research in the field) of the governance of arts, industrial policy, and universities in each region.