‘On the front line of the battle for reunification': Nationalism and Romania’s identity paradiplomacy in Moldova

Abstract

ABSTRACT The literature on sub-state diplomacy has revealed that identity entrepreneurs representing minority nations like Quebec engage in foreign affairs, normally defined as identity paradiplomacy. This article argues that the concepts of the identity entrepreneur and of identity paradiplomacy should be broadened to refer to any sub-state decision-maker, not only those representing minority nations, that disseminates identity or nationalist ideas in engagements with foreign actors. The reconceptualization advances scholarship by incorporating a more diverse array of types of identity paradiplomacy and refines our understanding of both the causes and the consequences of nationalist-driven paradiplomacy. As an empirical illustration of this proposition, the article offers a case study of the diplomatic affairs of Romania’s sub-state governments toward the Republic of Moldova, which were dominated by nationalist narratives shared by central authorities and included no references to regional identity.