1 Chapter 7 Key Issues in the New Regionalism: Comparisons from Asia, Africa and the Middle East Michael Schulz, Fredrik Söderbaum & Joakim Öjendal 1 1 The authors are heavily indebted for the support and encouragement from Björn Hettne. The constructive comments on an earlier version by Morten Bøås, Bertil Odén and Sheila Page are also gratefully acknowledged.