The accident of the region: a strategic relational perspective on the construction of the region's significance

Abstract

What explains the strong performative of the 'region' in academic and popular perceptions? This paper explores this question at two levels, namely that of broader political, economic and social shifts and that of institutional and discursive mediations. The assessment uses an evolutionary perspective based on the Strategic Relational Approach (SRA) and recent institutional-discursive elaborations. Specific attention is paid to question of spatial-scalar configurations and economic versus extra-economic aspects of regional development.