Ten years of re-thinking regions from citizens’ perspectives

This special issue commemorating Regions & Cohesion’s tenth anniversary continues the tradition described herein. Entitled “Re-thinking regions: A citizen perspective,” it has been conceptualized and coordinated by the journal’s editors, associate editors, and editorial manager. We thank the contributing authors for accepting the challenge to respond to any of the following provocative questions: What contributed to the perceived decline of regions in global affairs? How can regions recover from this perceived decline? How can supranational, transnational, or sub-national regions respond better to the needs of citizens? How can regions better support the Sustainable Development Goals and the transformative development that they pursue? How can regions promote more sustainable usage of natural resources? What roles can regions play in global affairs in the near- to medium-term future? The articles published here provide a snapshot of the state of regional integration in the world today. These articles also engage the field of regional studies, discuss its strengths and weaknesses, and indicate interesting paths for future scholarship. We thank the authors for these proposed ways forward.