In the context of regionalism and regionalisation, the notion of a region holds sway. Discussions around the topic of how spatial entities defined as ‘regions’ form, evolve, develop, become institutionalised and sometimes stabilized have been active and profound over the last forty years. Moreover, rich and diverse literature provides different conceptualizations and problematisation of regions that have been changing over time. ‘Heterogeneous relations’ that stretch over boundaries and are not territorially fixed have been accorded an increased attention in the regional studies. This research investigates the region building process in the Alpine region and analyses different agenda-settings pursued by various stakeholders in the Alpine region. The study employs qualitative methods to analyse processes of region building by applying Paasi’s institutionalisation theory. The findings show the regional dynamics in the case under investigation and claims that the Alpine region has being transformed from a closed, bounded, territorially fixed entity to a relational one, based on not territorially fixed heterogeneous relations. This transformation leads from a relatively ‘fixed’ Alpine region (as defined by Alpine Convention) to a more fluid, unbounded and ‘fuzzy’ space – the Alpine macro-region, which is being developing.

The introduction of the European Union (EU) macro-regional strategies (MRS) in the latter half of the 2000s was a significant step in the process of transformation of EU governance system. EU MRSs act as a new form of comprehensive governance framework for multi-objective and cross-sectoral cooperation in geographically defined macro-regions. This thesis examines the case of the Baltic Sea Region in order to evaluate a potential of this new governance instrument to transform cooperation arrangements in the region. In order to shed light on the strategy’s patterns and dynamics, the present study utilizes a qualitative methodological approach that uses document analysis based on a comprehensive analytical framework. The analytical framework incorporates the theoretical perspectives of multi-level and experimentalist governance, as well as the theory of differentiated integration. The main findings of this study suggest that the inception of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) in 2009 has offered an innovative and dynamic framework for cooperation that enabled a wider representation and more active participation of local and regional actors. This allowed for a more coherent and coordinated policymaking, facilitated a more responsive and transparent cooperation system in the region, as well as fostered transnational cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region by ensuring a wider engagement of non-EU countries.

The current era of intensive globalisation, digitisation and expansion of FinTech companies and latter the impacts of a recent global financial crisis support further concentration processes within the banking sector. This dissertation thesis explores the impacts of global financial crisis on the European banking centres on the level of major banking centres and tiny banking centres with special regard on the development in three main European macroregions - Western Europe, Southern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe. The banking centres were analysed according financial indicators of banks headquartered in particular banking centre in the indicators capturing size, profitability and the level of risk during the period 2004-2015. Counterintuitively, the European leading banking centres (London, Paris and Frankfurt), despite their extensive exposure to capital markets, dispay a high level of resilience, which contrasts with the evolution of the other major Western European centres, which clearly lagged behind the European leaders. From a macro-regional perspective, banking centres in Western Europe exhibited the first signals of both the crisis and the recovery, which were subsequently diffused across Europe. Surprisingly, the profitability of low-ranking banking centres in Central and Eastern...