Thinking the Balkans out of the Box

Thinking the Balkans out of the Box moves away from narrow and conventional, often state-centred, understandings of European integration and regional cooperation in relation to South East Europe. Based on case studies, this book presents both common and specific features of integration and region-building within the framework of "early", "old", "new" and "comparative regionalism" approaches, which the author sees as complementary rather than mutually exclusive. Using a long-term timeline, the author contextualises these four waves in the post-Second World War era, the Cold War period, the post-Cold War era, and our current hypertext or multiplex world order respectively. In the latter, integration and regionalisation become significantly more intertwined, heterogeneous, open, inclusive, comprehensive and multidimensional.