Essays on Global Regionalism celebrates the 25th anniversary of the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS). The two open-access volumes bring together 100 essays by scholars from all over the world, reflecting on the past, present, and future of regionalism research.

The first volume lays a foundation for regional studies by presenting diverse theories and tools for researching regions and bridging disciplines. In their essay in this volume, Lukas Grundsfeld and Diana Panke argue that mainstream theory can answer certain questions and produce certain types of knowledge better than other theories, but that the reverse is also true. Therefore, while highlighting the promise of mainstream theory, the authors make a case for epistemic empathy in the study of regions and regional international organisations.

Volume II explores the continued and future importance of regions in global politics. In their contribution, Tainá Siman, Sören Stapel, and Pawel Tverskoi argue that in a complex and fragmented ‘multiplex’ world order, regions and regional international organisations have become key actors shaping global governance, notably through the formation of diverse forms of relations with other organisations, states, and non-state actors outside their respective regions. The authors contend that these interregional interactions extend beyond traditional frameworks of interregionalism, encompassing a wide range of practices such as organisational partnerships, observerships, and external funding. They emphasise the need for systematic comparative research to better understand how these dynamics can either stabilise global governance and promote new multilateralism or contribute to new forms of dependency and vulnerabilities.

To the contributions:

• Diana Panke and Lukas Grundsfeld: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-13642-8_18
• Tainá Siman, Sören Stapel, and Pawel Tverskoi: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-13646-6_18