The Evolving Role of Sub-National Actors in International Economic Relations: Lessons from the Canada-European Union CETA

Abstract

Using the recently concluded Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) as a case study, this chapter aims to assess the nature, scope, and implications of shifting forms of cooperation observable in the negotiation/ratification process of mega-regional economic agreements. The emphasis would be on how sub-national and non-state actors, which are conventionally non-traditional actors in international relations, have influenced the outcome of CETA. The analysis in this chapter will also serve as a basis for identifying emerging patterns in the institutional evolution of international economic governance. To put the discussions in the context of the overarching theme of the Volume, the analyses in this chapter will be framed within two forms of interaction observable from the CETA negotiations. They are: shifting forms of cooperation between central and sub-national actors in international economic relations as evidenced by the collaboration strategies adopted during the CETA negotiations, and shifting forms of cooperation between sub-national governments and non-state actors in international economic relations.