Abstract
The concept of spatial integration refers to the various forms of institutional control over the social and technical aspects of the division of labour in respect to the corresponding geographical or spatial patterns of production. It is a specific feature of late capitalism that the process of integration acquires a nonterritorial character as the evolution of functional (corporate and sectoral) integration leads towards the disarticulation of territorial productive systems. As the various local, regional, or national interests realise the negative effects of their dependence upon international branch circuits, they demand greater autonomy and strive towards the achievement of greater territorial self-reliance. In this way, the social, political, and economic conflicts and contradictions about the location of productive activities (that is, the spatial aspects of ownership and control of the means of production) become the major force behind the transformation of the international division of labour.
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