Roads to Regionalism

'This excellent volume is a valuable source of new knowledge of 'old' regionalism and an inspiring guide for further research. It succeeds in clarifying convincingly different aspects of the dynamics between ROs and their member states. It carefully avoids two typical pitfalls; a normative bias (regionalism as intrinsically good or bad) and Euro-centrism. It shows the usefulness of theoretical pluralism and the fruitfulness of sound comparative work, explaining similarities and differences in such widely diverging contexts as Eurasia, the Arab world, Africa, Asia and the Americas. It raises questions which will guide future research on old and new regionalism alike.' Anna van der Vleuten, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands 'This very well researched volume is a valuable contribution to the study of regionalism and regional organizations. It covers most relevant contemporary regional organizations through four central aspects: their genesis and growth, institutional design, member-states behavior and effects of member-states. The analysis includes economic, cultural, political and institutional characteristics of organizations in an analytical framework that allows for great complexity. The volume succeeds in building a much needed bridge between European Integration studies and the New Regionalism Approach, and in making a case for the importance of regional organizations in the emerging systems of global governance.' Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann, Universität Erfurt, Germany 'A theoretically-eclectic volume resulting from dedicated workshops on the topic, it offers a common framework for understanding variation in the role of regional organizations across the world. The editors should be congratulated for gathering a new generation of scholars bound to expand the analytical and empirical horizons in the study of regionalism.' Etel Solingen, University of California, Irvine, USA '... readers interested in regionalism will find the volume helpful and inspiri