The revival of interest in regions contrasts with a lack of systematic study of them. Usually regions are not studied to understand regions, but to understand how the regional influences specific processes. These studies focus on a specific topic in a particular type of region. However useful these thematic case studies into the role of the regional are, they need to be augmented by other perspectives. Three different dimensions of regions are essential to understand regions. Regions are: arenas of social processes; territories of control; and spatial formations interacting at different scales. An overview of semiperipheral development illustrates how these three dimensions and different scales in the world‐system can be connected.