This insightful book analyzes the development of cross-border and cross-sector partnerships in a number of European cities and regions. Including, amongst others, Copenhagen, Budapest, Helsinki, Munich and Catalonia, these case studies shed light on the factors determining the success or failure of the coalition-forming process. Over the course of the nine case studies, the following questions are addressed: What forms of metropolitan and/or regional partnerships can be found? What are the motives for establishing such partnerships? What factors contribute to or obstruct cooperation on the metropolitan level? How is performance of partnership models to be measured? How are the successes and failures of these attempts to be explained?The comparative analysis of these attempts to establish cooperation between municipalities demonstrates the importance of a regional approach to governance in dealing with challenges that cross the borders of cities.