Contemporary Models of Regionalism

The rise of regionalism which took place simultaneously with the strengthening of integration processes, is one of the most prominent features of the development of European countries since the second half of the twentieth century. Regionalism is a historical and dynamic category based on an activist approach in solving of certain regional issues. Essentially speaking regionalism is а movement that seeks to promote the interests of the region in the cultural, economic or political level. Given the variety of causes that lead to the emergence of regionalism, the various manifestations and models аre observed. After the conceptual clarifications, the different regionalism models are defined i.e. a) the doctrinal models mainly focused on the causes and circumstances that lead to the regionalism, b) models according to the classification of the European Union and c) regionalism models according to the form of political organization. It is concluded that regional identity as a complex and historical category is a decisive factor in the formulation of a specific model of regionalism in the contemporary states’ practice.