Adapting administrative structures to (small) minority areas: Trentino as a laboratory rather than a model

This article addresses the question of how to reconcile, in institutional form, the (re)organization of administrative structures and the emerging demands of the linguistic groups to be represented in the public administration, while bearing in mind the requirements of efficiency and effectiveness. A legal analysis of the case of the Autonomous Province of Trento suggests that this can be achieved through two different but often complementary mechanisms: by creating new public bodies and/or by encouraging increased participation and representation of linguistic minorities in the existing administration. An examination of the institutional tools developed in Trentino indicates a variety of possible judicial solutions to the problem of efficient management of small linguistic communities, presenting the provincial legal system as a “laboratory” for the evaluation of a broad range of administrative options.