Although receiving increasing attention in multilateral settings, regional arrangements play a hitherto under-investigated role in global migration governance. Regional initiatives exist for intraregional mobility; migrant rights; refugee protection; or to counter unsolicited migration. Often, these initiatives have developed in different institutional settings and with little coordination. This article theorises the drivers of regional migration governance as well as the interplay between regional processes and global ones. In doing so, we highlight the complex interplay between intergovernmental dynamics ‘from above' and transnational processes ‘from below' as well as external forces ‘from beyond', in particular the external influence of other powerful states and international organisations. This theoretical framework provides the basis for a comparative and comprehensive analysis of the determinants of regional approaches in the wider context of global migration governance.