Intersecting Interregionalism: Regions, Global Governance and the EU (United Nations University Series on Regionalism Book 7)

"This book has two mutually reinforcing aims/parts. The first aim is to contribute to a more productive debate between different theoretical standpoints. There is surprisingly little theoretical and conceptual debate in this burgeoning field, which is one major reason for the failure to fully grasp the diversity of today's interregionalism. Too often theorists speak past each other, without really engaging with alternative theoretical perspectives or competing research results. Indeed, this book constitutes the first systematic attempt to bring together leading theories and theorists of interregionalism. Leading scholars from around the world develop their own distinctive theoretical perspectives on interregionalism, with a particular emphasis on the dynamic relationship between regionalism and interregionalism. These highly acclaimed theorists have all been associated over the years with a variety of disciplines, institutions, schools and debates and so bring a rich set of insights and connections to this pioneering project. The second part of the book 'unpacks' and problematises the region, the driving actors and institutions that are engaged in interregional relations. There is a strong tendency in the field to treat regions as coherent units actors in an interregional relationship, and such simplified notions about 'regions' and 'regional organisations' necessarily result in superficial and misleading understandings of interregionalism. This part of the book connects the theoretical discussion in the first part with a manageable empirical object."--Publisher's description Intersecting Interregionalism moves beyond narrow understandings of regions and interregionalism that dominate the research field by focusing on the polymorphous nature of the concepts under study, theoretical advances and the empirical challenges ahead. Written by leading experts in the field, the ultimate aim of the book is to contribute to a more relevant and nuanced comparative research agenda on interregionalism in Europe and elsewhere. The volume is divided into two parts. The first provides an overview of several distinctive theoretical perspectives, with particular emphasis on the dynamic relationship between regions and interregionalism. The second part of the book uncovers the diversity of regional actors and institutions that are engaged in the creation of contemporary interregionalism. The EU is used as an entry point and detailed case studies explore the role of EU member states, the Council, the Commission, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice, in order to map out a patchwork of intersecting interregionalisms around the world Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction: Intersecting Interregionalism....Pages 1-12 Front Matter....Pages 13-13 Interregionalism and International Relations: Reanimating an Obsolescent Research Agenda?....Pages 15-35 Interregionalism and the European Union: Conceptualising Group-to-Group Relations....Pages 37-54 Regional Actorship: A Comparative Approach to Interregionalism....Pages 55-70 Interregionalism: A Security Studies Perspective....Pages 71-88 Front Matter....Pages 89-89 The European Union and the Contradictions of Complex Interregionalism....Pages 91-106 The Impact of the Iberian States on European Union–Latin American Interregionalism....Pages 107-127 How Does the European Parliament Contribute to the Construction of the EU’s Interregional Dialogue?....Pages 129-150 The Court of Justice of the European Union and Other Regional Courts....Pages 151-168 Conclusion....Pages 169-182 Back Matter....Pages 183-196