Sub-state Entities Research Articles

Cultural diplomacy as a nation-building tool for stateless nationalisms: the search for recognition of Catalonia in Germany, 1901–1939

This article addresses the role that cultural diplomacy has played as a tool of nation-building for sub-state public entities led by movements representing stateless nations. It exemplifies this with the case of Catalonia's search for recognition in Germany, 1901–1939. The analysis highlights the ambivalence that characterized the actions of the Catalan sub-state public entities, between resigning themselves to their status as regional actors and aspirations for a different political constitution. We argue that this ambivalence was a strategy to maximize the effectiveness of their cultural diplomacy policies considering state and international contexts reluctant to recognize sub-state entities as political actors.

International and European Institutions and Catalan Nationalism

AbstractThe exercise of public power by substate entities poses a challenge for international law. Although such entities lack international legal personality, their actions can have international significance and, because they are state organs, must always adhere to the international obligations assumed by the state. In Spain, the autonomous communities exercise broad powers, which, in the case of Catalonia (via the Generalitat), include education, healthcare, prisons and police. Research shows that the Generalitat has exercised – and, to some extent, continues to exercise – some of its powers in disregard of certain constitutional and legal obligations. This action by public authorities in disregard of the law can have international consequences, and various international organizations have expressed positions on it through their bodies. This paper examines these positions on the Generalitat’s actions in connection with the secession process and other related policies, including both those that have been critical of this behaviour and those that have expressed direct or indirect support for it. The practice of the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the UN Human Rights Council through its Special Rapporteur on minority issues is analysed.

ALEVİ SİYASALLAŞMASI VE DIŞ POLİTİKA: ALEVİ SİYASİ PARTİLERİNDE KİMLİK-ULUSLARARASI POLİTİKA BAĞLANTISI

The foreign policy and international relations perceptions of sub-state groups have recently begun to be discussed in the literature. The central role of the state is eroding and non- and sub-state actors are emerging as influential factors in international politics. Identity is the most dominant factor in the foreign policy perspectives of these actors. This study examines Alevi politicization in Turkey in relation to foreign policy and identity. The politicization of Alevism in Turkey has accelerated since the 1950s with the urbanization of Alevis and their rapprochement with leftist ideologies. The tension between Alevism and the state since the Ottoman period has also fed this process. As a result of this politicization, the Unity Party (1966-1980) and the Peace Party (1996-1999) were established as Alevi parties. The relationship that both parties established with their Alevi base, their perception of domestic politics and their interpretation of international developments influenced their identities. This study examines the relationship between Alevi identity and foreign policy based on the parties' programs. The study aims to contribute to the literature by making three claims. The first is that sub-state entities can also make foreign policy. Sub-state identities formulate their own foreign policy concepts independently of governments and successfully integrate domestic and international developments into their political programs. Second, domestic and international developments have a transformative impact on the politicization of Alevis. The birth of the Alevi political movement following urbanization and its subsequent ideological transformation with leftist politics illustrates this. As a result, there has been a rupture between the Alevi political movement and its traditions and institutions. Third, Alevi politicization in the 1960s and 1990s followed different paths. The first was the process of individual Alevi politicization in the bipolar order of the Cold War conditions, which shrouded micro debates, while the second was the emergence of an Alevi political movement as a result of the increased emphasis on identity after the end of the Cold War.

KERJASAMA PEMERINTAH PROVINSI SULAWESI SELATAN DAN PREFEKTUR EHIME DALAM PENINGKATAN PRODUKSI IKAN TUNA

This research was conducted to explain how the cooperation between South Sulawesi Province and Japan's Ehime Prefecture is a form of sister province cooperation where this inter-regional cooperation aims to provide options for regional development. This study uses a qualitative method with a descriptive approach that is built on the theory of Paradiplomacy and the concept of Sister Province based on the analyst's explanation given by Takdir Ali Mukti who assumes that Paradiplomacy refers to the behavior and capacity of conducting foreign relations with foreign parties carried out by sub-state entities, in the context of their specific interests. The concept of sister province cooperation is the solution taken by the South Sulawesi Provincial Government in cooperation with Japan's Ehime Prefecture. In this collaboration, the Provincial Government of South Sulawesi cooperates in the development of several fields where one of the most interested in Japan is cooperation in the field of marine product cultivation in which the type of commodity is tuna. The solution taken by the South Sulawesi government by using the sister province cooperation channel found variables that encourage South Sulawesi to find strategies used in developing tuna fish production.

Conceptualizing and Measuring Abatement from the Opioid Epidemic: A Case Study from Pennsylvania.

Policy Points In 2021, four major pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors reached a proposed settlement agreement with 46 state Attorneys General of $26 billion to address their liabilities in fueling the US opioid epidemic. It raises important questions about abatement conceptualization and measurement for allocating settlement funds among substate entities. We outline the political economy tensions undergirding the settlement and allocation, introduce an abatement conceptual framework, describe how an abatement formula was developed for Pennsylvania to allocate settlement funds, and summarize considerations for future settlement allocation efforts. Documenting the challenges and experiences of this task is essential to inform future efforts.

Strategic partnerships and China’s diplomacy in Europe: Insights from Italy

As discussions of a ‘new cold war’ between China and the West intensify, it has never been more important to understand how China engages internationally. Crucially, as of 2022, China has established 110 ‘strategic partnerships’, without stipulating any formal treaty of alliance, but we know little about strategic partnerships and how China uses them, despite their centrality as a foreign policy tool. Departing from the assumption of the state as a unitary and monolithic actor in international affairs, this article proposes a new framework of strategic partnerships which incorporates sub-state entities as well as an ideational component, highlighting the image-building purpose that these partnerships serve. Empirically, the analysis focuses on the evolution of the Sino-Italian strategic partnership, drawing on a critical discourse analysis of 1294 news articles published as part of the agreement between the Chinese and Italian news agencies Xinhua and ANSA.

Cooperation of German cities with Chinese partners and its importance for Germany’s foreign policy

The 21st century is a time of enormous development of cities as political, economic and social actors actively shaping the global scene. Among them German cities are important actors on the international political arena, as they have extensive competences to conduct foreign policy, resulting from the federal system. Over the past years, contacts of German cities with Chinese entities have experienced a particularly dynamic development. For German cities their Chinese partners have become both cooperators in terms of administrative and economic solutions, but also more and more often collaborators on educational and cultural issues.The aim of this article is, thus, to map the connections between German and Chinese cities, and then to refer to the place which international relations conducted by sub-state entities find in foreign policy implemented at the federal level. The starting point for the analysis is the presentation of the role of city diplomacy, and then results of a survey conducted among officials representing German cities inhabited by at least 50,000 people. The author will present the conditions of bilateral cooperation between cities, key areas of cooperation, determinants of success and the most common problems. In the last part, the author will analyze the role played by cities in the German political reality. In this way, the author will indicate whether the actions towards Chinese partners are coordinated with other institutions at the regional and national level.

The Contemporary Observations of Paradiplomacy: The Case of Sabah-Australia Connections

Diplomacy has always been seen as a state-centric matter that views state as the only actor in international relations. Nevertheless, since the end of the Cold War, this belief has been challenged with the growing role of multinational as well as sub-state entities in international political arena. Malaysia-Australia relations have been shaped with numerous issues and challenges. Despite their bumpy political ties in the past (especially during the prime ministership of dr. Mahathir Mohamad) other spheres of the relationship remained unaffected. As such, a case study is conducted by looking at Sabah-Australia relations in terms of paradiplomatic practices.This research is qualitative in nature. Initial findings indicate that historical imperatives as well as trading interactions are two forms paradiplomatic practice that has contributed to strengthening of Malaysia-Australia relations.

More or less regional autonomy? A qualitative analysis of citizen arguments towards (de)centralization in Belgium

Belgium is often portrayed as a textbook example of gradual federalization. Today, however, a rather new debate among political elites has emerged: whether to refederalize some of the powers that have been devolved to the substate entities. Yet, little is known about how citizens see the issue. The objective of this article is therefore to explore and compare citizens’ arguments for more or less regional autonomy. To this end, three citizen forums focusing on federalism were organized in 2017–2018: one in French, a second one in Dutch and a third one in German. They were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Our results suggest that citizen opinions are justified based on two major argumentative themes: identity and efficiency. While one would expect the former to be of traditional importance, our analysis revealed that considerations about efficiency have taken the lead. This can above all be understood given the advanced stage of the Belgian federalization process, for which considerations of identity are still latently important but explicitly not sufficient enough anymore to justify further dynamics. Finally, our analysis also outlined the existence of additional argumentative frames related to path dependencies and the peculiar situation of Brussels.

Ciberseguridad y Estado autonómico

La protección de la seguridad en el ciberespacio se ha convertido en una prioridad para los poderes públicos, que exige el desarrollo de políticas adecuadas para prevenir y contrarrestar las amenazas que se materializan en el mundo virtual. El Estado es el actor principal en el campo de la ciberseguridad, sin perjuicio de la dificultad para delimitar las actuaciones en un espacio que, por definición, no puede acotarse a través de fronteras y jurisdicciones. En los Estados descentralizados se plantea el debate sobre el alcance de las competencias de las entidades subestatales en materia de ciberseguridad, especialmente cuando los Gobiernos, organismos y servicios públicos regionales y locales destacan cada vez más como objeto de las acciones maliciosas en el espacio virtual. En España, la delimitación de competencias entre el Estado y las Comunidades Autónomas ha sido precisada por el Tribunal Constitucional en la STC 142/2018, de 20 de diciembre, en coherencia con su doctrina y con la concepción racional del sistema de seguridad nacional.

The unexpected norm-setters: Intelligence agencies in cyberspace

ABSTRACTBy implementing novel intelligence techniques in cyberspace, security and intelligence agencies have become major actors in the cybersecurity landscape. As they no longer just passively gather information for their governments but conduct both defense and offense operations in cyberspace, they signal international actors that their conduct is at least tolerable, even if not officially acceptable. Thereby, the intelligence agencies generate norms for the rest of the international community. Yet, they remain under the international regulation radar for being sub-state entities. Consequently, the main argument of this article is the following: To prevent the hollowing-out of cyber regulation efforts, the norm-setting role of intelligence actors should be taken into account when designing cyber norms.

Shvatanje spoljnih odnosa federativnih jedinica i regiona

This paper examines in detail the major themes that have emerged in the academic study of external relations of substate entities. It begins by exploring definitions of the external relations and international activities of federated units and regions and presents a brief history of when and how sub-state units emerged at the international scene; in other words, it considers the groundwork for their international presence and displays how changes in international relations create room for new actors. The paper then considers why federated units and regions engage in external relations, including their motivations, incentives, and strategies. The paper also examines the role of nationalism and separatism in the international activities of federated units and regions, how central authorities react, and what measures they may take against their sub-state units. The participation of regions and federated units in international organisations is also analysed here.

SUB-STATE MOBILIZATION IN ‘HIGH POLITICS’: THE ROLE OF REGIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY

Subnational mobilization literature has flourished since the mid. 1990s. Regional and local authorities have tried, not always successfully, to utilize alternative channels of representation in the European Union (EU) in different policy areas and with different scope and depth. The policy areas and the degree of subnational mobilization is greatly varied contingent on exogenous -at the EU level- and endogenous -within local and regional organisational capacity- factors. Most commonly, subnational authorities (SNAs) find themselves involved in cohesion policy issues, environmental affairs, and social policy measures, mostly involved in the implementation phase. However, as the EU continuously emphasizes the importance of regional and local authorities in facilitating the European integration process, it has fuelled SNAs’ institutional ambitions and expanded their aspirations for participation in new policy areas, even in fields traditionally considered to be exercised –and monopolized–by national authorities, such as foreign policy issues. This article focuses on the role of subnational institutions in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), a relatively new policy area compared to other established EU policies. In short, the ENP was introduced in 2004 and revised in 2011 and 2015. Its rationale is to bring closer EU countries and their neighbours, so as to work together on issues regarding prosperity, stability and security for all. The ENP constitutes a policy field for subnational authorities that aim to mobilize in the supranational arena. The European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI – former European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument/ENPI) is the ENP financial tool which provides opportunities for “financial mobilization” to institutional actors by granting funds for implementing programmes. In addition, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), the official assembly of representatives of local and regional authorities in the EU, stands for another channel for subnational mobilization. Through specific policy initiatives that have been established and promoted by the CoR, namely the Conference of Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP) and the Assembly of Local and Regional elected Representatives from the EU and its Mediterranean partners (ARLEM), local and regional institutions have the opportunity to actively participate in the ENP. Moreover, the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) serves as a distinct policy tool for enhancing territorial development and cooperation, allowing for the engagement of subnational actors from different EU countries –and third countries as well. Drawing on the literature of multi-level governance, it is argued that sub-state entities have managed to expand their institutional role in new policy areas that have been traditionally monopolized by central state authorities. Empirical evidence is utilized by examining certain types of subnational mobilization originally found on initiatives proposed and developed by the CoR, the financial instrument of the ENP (ENI) as well as the EGTC. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.12.20869

Ideological Divergence and Issue Convergence

This article explores the role of nationalism in paradiplomacy, the phenomenon of sub-state entities engaging in international affairs. In regions characterized by strong nationalist movements, paradiplomacy is utilized by regional actors to project a minority identity distinct from that of the majority centre. Quebec has sustained the world’s most advanced case of paradiplomacy, despite wholesale alternation between two ideologically divergent parties, the sovereigntist Parti Québécois (PQ) and the federalist Quebec Liberal Party (QLP). This article proposes party competition for issue ownership as a causal explanation of this convergence. The central argument put forth is that regional parties are galvanized by a nationalist electorate to take stances on international relations which promote their electoral competitiveness to voters vis-à-vis rival parties. The greater the emphasis a party places on itself as the most capable “owner” of the issue of the region’s international interests, the greater its commitment to paradiplomacy will be.

U.S. Federalism and Spanish Autonomy - Lessons from U.S. Federalism for the External Activities of Substate Entities



Trialogical Subsidiarity in International and Comparative Law: Engagement with International Treaties by Sub-State Entities as Resistance or Innovation

AbstractThis article proposes a new model for the engagement of sub-state units with the international legal order. “Trialogical subsidiarity” acknowledges that some areas are best regulated locally, but it also argues that international law has an increasing say in areas traditionally reserved for local law. The implementation of an international cultural heritage treaty by constituent units (CUs) in federal states, despite objections of the federal authorities, is a case study for the possibilities and implications of the use of international law by CUs without the filtering of the central state. This use enhances the legitimacy of international law and can lead to better outcomes for local populations, moving international law closer to its promise of being a law of peoples rather than of states.

Refining the Concepts of Territorial Revenue Assignment, Substate Fiscal Self-rule and Territorial Fiscal Balance

ABSTRACTFiscal federalism has offered a template for understanding intergovernmental fiscal relations. Yet when politicians are involved in day-to-day decentralization it may happen that some of the normative elements of fiscal federalism do not fit reality. Substate entities may go beyond the own-source paradigm and have a practical interest in alternative forms of fiscal self-rule. To better understand this pragmatism a threefold stage model of territorial revenue assignment is presented drawing on some insights offered by Germany’s fiscal constitution. Within this framework a reassessment of the role of territorial levels as levels during vertical revenue assignment is undertaken, a new typology of fiscal self-rule is introduced, and finally a theory of multiple territorial fiscal balance points is outlined, including the one based on the real domain of substate own policy-making.

Ironies of Consociation: Forest and Natural Resource Governance in Post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina

ABSTRACTThe nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), on southeastern Europe’s Balkan Peninsula, is a unique product of international peace building based on a consociational model of ethnic power sharing. Organized around protection of “vital interests” of its constituent ethnic communities, the BiH state is radically decentralized. In forest administration, national government is practically nonexistent; multiple substate entities including cantons and municipalities operate as autonomous, self-governing units. This paper finds that the politics of accommodation, ironically couched in the language of rights, creates conditions of illiberal dissociation which block consensual natural resource governance. Conservation policies which require political compromise, thus, face a challenge in BiH’s illiberal consociation. Through policy analysis and interviews with representatives of key organizations affected by the 2008 Law on Una National Park, this study finds that when policies are implemented at levels of expected cooperation, the resultant needs are to reconcile rifts of interpretation and coordinate competencies vertically among dissociative bureaucracies.

Peace Through Arbitration: Using International Arbitration to Solve Intra-State Conflicts

Since World War II, intra-state conflict has been on the rise. The international community has struggled to prevent and resolve intra-state conflicts. Disputants often sign peace agreements, but peace then fails at the implementation phase. This is, in part, due to a lack of effective mechanisms for resolving disputes between states and sub-state entities. To fill this gap, the United Nations has begun to promote the use of mediation as a dispute resolution mechanism in conflict situations. However, mediation is not the only option. International arbitration is available. Arbitration has been used to resolve intra-state territorial disputes, following conflicts, in two cases: in the Brcko arbitration, in Bosnia- Herzegovnia and the Abyei arbitration, in the Sudans. In light of these arbitrations, this paper suggests that arbitration might be an equally useful, if not better, dispute resolution tool for resolving disputes following intra-state conflicts. International arbitration may lead to more lasting peace. In making this argument, this paper attempts to fill a lacunae in the legal literature. Much legal scholarship discusses the general advantages and disadvantages of different dispute resolution mechanisms. However, there is little, if any, scholarship devoted to determining the most appropriate dispute resolution mechanism for use following intra-state conflicts or critically engaging with the UN’s preference for mediation.

Aiming at Secession

This study addresses the issue of sub-national units’ activism in the international arena, using the case of the Iraqi Kurdistan federal region. The prevailing view in the literature is that the increasing involvement of sub-state entities in international relations is caused by globalization and growing economic interdependence. We argue that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been extremely active in the international arena, primarily, to secure a favorable international image and gain support for recognition in pursuit of a secessionist agenda. To prove our argument, we generated data through interviews with KRG officials, politicians and Kurdish intellectuals and used secondary data, such as official documents, newspaper reports, statistics and public speeches. Our findings suggest that the KRG has methodically acted to garner international support for its secessionist plans. This conclusion may add to the theory of federalism and paradiplomacy by suggesting that strong political motives may be also the underlying causes of sub-state units’ engagement in international relations, not only globalization and economic interdependence.