A study of regional and local co-operations across national borders in the nordic area (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) and also of regional co-operation out of the area (across the Baltic Sea, the North Seas or in the Barents Region). The focus of the study is on the process of region-building. Co-operation between regions across national borders is seen as a creative process, something that has to be nutured and guided. The book portrays these processes in detail through a series of case studies that represent significant cases of this type of Nordic area and provides a view of what may constitute "success" in such ventures. The authors also discuss what such processes may signify for general Nordic co-operation against the backdrop of European integration and seek to indicate what Nordic regions may bring to European regionalism. Such a discussion is of particular interest since the EU acquired a new Nordic dimension after Sweden and Finland joined. Several of the chapters are written by two editors, in addition, case studies of individual regions have been commissioned from authors with specialized knowledge of the each case.
