Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This insightful Research Agenda takes a thematic approach to analysing reform in regional and local government, exploring central concepts such as devolution, Europeanisation and globalisation. Expert contributors address key trends in structural change and reorganisation, subnational autonomy and decentralisation, metropolitan governance, and multi-level governance. Chapters explore managerial innovations and reform, democratic participation and leadership, and populism at local and regional levels. Identifying promising research avenues in these fields, the Research Agenda reflects on the effects of the 2008 global financial crisis, and potential lessons that are arising for subnational governments following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. It concludes that although the 2008 crisis has had some impact on territorial governance, there is greater continuity than radical change. Addressing particular themes and trends from a comparative perspective, this Research Agenda will be critical reading for scholars and students of international politics, urban studies and regional studies.

Addressing the role of regional clusters in the context of ongoing globalization, this timely book investigates the two seemingly competing trends of globalization and localization from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. International case studies offer pioneering insights into the internationalization process of regional clusters and the effect of this on regional as well as firm performance. Chapters discuss the link between localization in a regional cluster in a transition economy and firms' internationalization, the internal/external relationships of clusters and radical innovations, and internationally organized resilience capacities of industries and regional clusters. The book highlights the role of clusters in wider networks including global value chains and the specific role of migrants in the internationalization patterns of regional clusters. Innovative and forward-looking, this book will be a helpful read for scholars and students of economic geography and innovation. The critical case studies examined will also help public policy and regional policy-makers.

Driven by European Union policy challenges, this cutting-edge book focuses upon the Regional Innovation Impact (RII) of universities, to analyse the socioeconomic impact that universities in Europe have on their hometowns, metropolitan areas and regions. By developing a conceptual model of RII, and by applying a mixed-method 'narrative with numbers' analytical framework, the case studies presented in this book describe the RII potential and performance of twenty research-active universities throughout Europe. The findings and lessons learned are framed within the context of RII-related policy challenges within the European Commission, and possible EC funding instruments for incentivising RII within universities. Key features include an analysis of EU policy instruments and assessment frameworks for regional leadership, human capital development and knowledge transfer. Insightful and original, the lessons provided within this book will be beneficial to European, national and regional policy makers interested in approaches to incentivise universities to contribute more to regional innovation systems. It will also be of interest to university leaders and administrators who wish to develop strategies to orient their organisations towards increasing their RII.

In Power in the Balance: Presidents, Parties, and Legislatures in Peru and Beyond, Barry S. Levitt answers urgent questions about executive power in "new" democracies. He examines in rich detail the case of Peru, from President Alan Garcia's first term (1985-1990), to the erosion of democracy under President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), through the interim government of Valentin Paniagua (2000-2001) and the remarkable, if rocky, renewal of democracy culminating in Alejandro Toledo's 2001-2006 presidency. This turbulent experience with democracy brings into clear focus the functioning of formal political institutions-constitutions and electoral laws, presidents and legislatures, political parties and leaders-while also exposing the informal side of Peru's national politics over the course of two decades. Levitt's study of politics in Peru also provides a test case for his regional analysis of cross-national differences and change over time in presidential power across eighteen Latin American countries. In Peru and throughout Latin America, Levitt shows, the rule of law itself and the organizational forms of political parties have a stronger impact on legislative-executive relations than do most of the institutional traits and constitutional powers that configure the formal "rules of the game" for high politics. His findings, and their implications for improving the quality of new democracies everywhere, will surprise promoters, practitioners, and scholars of democratic politics alike.

Over the last 40 years, the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute has been honoured to partner with the Singapore government in hosting 44 Singapore Lectures. The Singapore Lecture series is a unique public platform for world leaders and experts visiting Singapore that reflects the city-state's role as a global hub of ideas and diplomacy. The 21 lectures chosen for this 40th anniversary volume chart the fundamental changes in the global economy and the inter-state system that Southeast Asia and Singapore have successfully navigated over these four momentous decades.