ABSTRACT
The chapter focuses on sociological approaches, which propose theoretical tools, often in the form of analogy, to better understand the emergence and the persistence of ecoregional governance as a norm. This chapter critically assesses how the concept of ecoregion can acquire a normative dimension and become the basis, on the one hand, of the ideology of ecoregionalism and, on the other, of the process of ecoregionalization. The origins of the concept of ecoregionalism and bioregionalism are traced deep into the 19th century. This chapter presents more key concepts, such as field and system.
