The regional puzzle

Regions have increasingly broke ground in the European sphere. For decades, they have been subject to forces both influencing them from above (regionalisation) as well as from below (regionalism). In the European Union, the regions and their actors have mainly manifested themselves via EU Regional Policy. Besides a closer look at the rationales behind this trend (see e. g. multi-level governance) and the brought along changes in the decision-making process, three case regions have thoroughly been addressed - Latvia, Scotland and Saxony. This book highlights pitfalls, possibilities and the position of regions and its actors in both the domestic and the European setting in a clear and structured way.