European regions : perspectives trends and developments in the 21st century At the beginning of the 21st century the EU is facing deep political social and economic changes. The benefit of supranational organization is no longer obvious to European citizens and questions of legitimacy have accompanied the EUs development over the last decades. Regions albeit often deemed »obsolete« present themselves as stable and reliable partners in this turbulent environment: in being important objects of identification to their citizens but also relevant political and legal entities in the EUs multilevel governance system. This edited volume asks about the potential of regions for trendsetting when it comes to combat the EUs democratic deficit today Frontmatter Contents Preface European Regions Regional Identity between Inclusion and Exclusion Regional Europeans Ambiguous Identities at the Rhine border Regional Identities in Europe Scottish Independence True Bavarians Can Money Buy Love The EUs Regional Investments After the Financial Crisis Cross border Cooperation in Central Europe New Multi Level Governance in the EU Small is Beautiful Europe of the Regions Authors Register