Is the EU isolated within the emergent multipolar world? Concentrating on interregional relations and focussing on the European Union’s (EU) evolving international role with regards to regional cooperation, this innovative book collects a set of fresh empirical analyses of interregional ties binding the EU with its Eastern and Southern neighbourhood, as well as with Asia, Africa and the Americas. The 25 leading authors from 5 continents have contributed original and diverse chapters and the book advances a novel theoretical ‘post-revisionist’ approach beyond both the Eurocentrism of ‘Europe First’ perspectives as well as the Euroscepticism of those advocating to simply move ’Beyond Europe’. After a Foreword by A. Acharya, the book’s five sections reflect the main drivers of EU interregional policies: The European Union as a Sophisticated Laboratory of Regional and Interregional Cooperation (with chapters by M. Telò, L. Fawcett and T. Risse), De Facto Drivers of Regionalism (F. Ponjaert, M. Shu, A. Valladão and C. Jakobeit), De Jure Drivers of Regionalism (S. Lavenex, G. Finizio, C. Jakobeit, R. Coman, C. Cocq & S. Teo L-Shah), Cognitive Drivers of Regionalism (J. Rüland, E. Fitriani, S. Stavridis & S. Kingah, P. Bacon), and Instrumental Drivers of Regionalism (B. Delcourt, C. Olsson & G. Müller, A. Malamud & P. Seabra and L. Fioramonti & J. Kostopoulos).

'This excellent book, focusing on agreements between the EU and its partners, provides a theoretically and empirically rich analysis of different forms of interregionalism. By systematically building on previous research in this area, it provides insights that will stimulate both academic and policy debate.' Vinod K. Aggarwal, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

'Breaking with traditional approaches, this book analyses the EU as a laboratory of experiments in regional and interregional cooperation. It is a major new contribution to regionalism studies and will be essential reading both for its fresh insights and the quality of its contributors.' Andrew Gamble, University of Sheffield, UK

Mario Telò Emeritus President of the Institute for European Studies (IEE-ULB). Professor of International relations, at ULB, as Jean Monnet Chair ad personam and at LUISS Guido Carli-Rome and Member of The Royal Academy of Sciences.

Louise Fawcett is Professor of International Relations and Wilfrid Knapp Fellow and Tutor in Politics at St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford.

Frederik Ponjaert is Researcher and Lecturer at the IEE-ULB and the KULeuven, and Associate Lecturer in Comparative Regionalism at SciencesPo, Paris.