Towards the “Playmaker region” model: Defining the emergent traits of a new epistemic model for the strategic understanding of regions

This contribution develops a critical reading of current paradigms of regional development and transition in the EU context, with the aim of making explicit the hegemonic epistemic frames through which strategic representations are produced, and of outlining possible emerging alternatives grounded in specific territories. The discussion argues that sustainable innovation requires a revision of the epistemic models used to interpret territorial phenomena and to generate strategic visions, and it illustrates—through the relation between EU spatial policies and the Albania 2030 national plan—how such frames may operate within broader processes of integration. “Transition” is treated as an inherently ambiguous concept that requires historicisation and spatialisation in order to assess its operational implications. Albania, and more specifically the cross-border regions around the Ohrid lake area, is used as a test ground to highlight both the limitations of dominant paradigms and the conditions under which alternative framings may emerge. In this perspective, the “Playmaker region” model is proposed both as an emerging spatial-environmental condition and as a strategic repositioning for natural-asset-dominated cross-border regions, identifying recurring traits and invariants that can support action.