We describe some of the important physical characteristics of the 'pathways', i.e. dynamical processes, by which molecular, nanoscale and micron-scale self-assembly occurs. We highlight the fact that there exist features of self-assembly pathways that are common to a wide range of physical systems, even though those systems may be different in respect of their microscopic details. We summarize some existing theoretical descriptions of self-assembly pathways, and highlight areas -- notably, the

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... escription of self-assembly pathways that occur 'far' from equilibrium -- that are likely to become increasingly important.