ABSTRACT
Since the mid-1980s there has been a proliferation of regionalism on a global scale. The widening and deepening of the EU is the most pervasive example, but regionalism is also made visible through the revitalisation, expansion or creation of many other regional projects around the world. Today’s regionalism is characterised by the involvement of almost all governments in the world, but it also involves a rich variety of non-state actors, resulting in multiplicities of formal and informal regionalism in most issue areas. As such, regionalism is closely linked with the shifting nature of global politics and international relations, as well as with the intensification of the globalisation process.
