INTERNAL DYNAMICS OF REGIONS
Regions have their own internal dynamic: they may become important vehicles of power, shaping the spaces of governance, economy and culture. However, it should not be neglected that each region forms a part of the global system, and thus, needs to be understood in a global perspective as well.
Although regions are not naturally constituted geographical units, they cannot exist without having a physical reality. Thus, territoriality is a sine qua non of regions. The territorial shaping of a region implies that regions require some kind of boundaries. After all, a territory can be defined as 'a cohesive section of the earth's surface that is distinguished from its surroundings by a boundary'. Boundaries have a dual role in the creation of a 'sense of place', namely the establishment of who is 'inside' and who is 'outside'. Regional borders are the products of a continuous process of construction and deconstruction, which implies that regional borders are mutable. An example of changing perceptions of a region is the change from regarding the border of Europe as falling between East and West Germany to including all the former Eastern European countries as potential members of the EU.
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