'Metropolregionen' in Germany: The Enforcement of Global City-Regions

Under the conditions of globalisation, economic success has been related in politics and theoretical debate to the strength of regions. The concept of the region has therefore also been strengthened in Germany. Within the architecture of a historically grown political landscape, the implementation of the new forms of so-called metropolitan governance, however, has had limited effects. While the limits of “new regionalism” in Germany – by the federal organisation of political geography – are evident, the very idea of regional governance is also to be challenged. Therefore, the article discusses whether the introduction of “Metropolitan regions” can be regarded in the light of the international research on global city-regions.