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Volume 5 (2010)

Issues 1-2: Regional Sub-State Diplomacy Today

Special issue edited by David Criekemans

Issues 1-2 at Brill.com

Contents

David Criekemans

Article available at Brill.com

Noé Cornago
Abstract

Against conventional approaches that tend to minimize the importance of sub-state diplomacy, this article argues that this reality is presently undergoing a process of legal and political normalization throughout the world and deserves greater attention from both diplomatic practitioners and experts. This process, which is embedded in wider structural transformations, is driven simultaneously by two competing forces that are present in virtually all states: first, international mobilization of sub-state governments themselves, since they increasingly pursue relevant political objectives in the international field through their own methods and instruments; and second, the various attempts to limit and control that activism deployed by central governments through various legal and political instruments. After a brief discussion on the notion of normalization in critical social theory and its validity for diplomatic studies, this article examines the normalization of sub-state diplomacy through four, closely interconnected conceptual lenses: normalization as generalization; normalization as regionalization; normalization as reflective adaptation; and, finally, normalization as contentious regulation. Normalization enables the diplomatic system to operate in an increasingly complex environment while simultaneously affirming its own hierarchical structure. The limits of that normalization process, as well as its wider implications for diplomatic theory and practice, are also discussed.

Article available at Brill.com

David Criekemans
Abstract

Regions are nowadays generating an increasing amount of diplomatic activity, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. This article studies the emergence of regional sub-state entities as diplomatic actors, and an in-depth comparative study is made of the external relations of Quebec, Scotland, Bavaria, Catalonia, Wallonia and Flanders. The following dimensions are studied: (1) the definition of foreign policy; (2) the diplomatic instruments that are utilized; (3) the organizational structure and operation of foreign affairs; and (4) the character of the representations abroad. Based upon a comparative study of the empirical data, the article argues that boundaries between diplomacy (as generated by states) and sub-state diplomacy are visibly watering down.

Article available at Brill.com

Jorge A. Schiavon
Abstract

This article analyses the international relations of Mexican sub-state governments. It aims to answer four questions: 1) What explains the recent and dramatic increase in their international activities?; 2) Do these federal units have an independent foreign policy?; 3) What are their levels or degrees of sub-state diplomacy?; and 4) Which variables explain the variation in their degree of sub-state diplomacy? The first section argues that the growth in international activities is generated by the combination of two sets of variables: a) the growing interdependence and globalization of the international system; and b) the democratization, decentralization and structural reform processes in the domestic arena. The second section sustains that Mexican sub-national units do not have a foreign policy of their own. The third section shows that there is a wide variation in the states’ degree of international participation. In order to characterize this variation, a typology is constructed and the 32 Mexican federal units are classified in two moments in time (2004 and 2009) and a comparative analysis between these two periods is presented. The fourth section argues that the degree of sub-state diplomacy depends on three variables: economic (gross state product); political (juxtaposed government); and geographic (border location). Each of these variables is tested to determine its impact, providing evidence to sustain the relevance of the economic variable, arguing that juxtaposed government functions as a trigger variable for initiating or increasing external activities, and that the border is a necessary, but not sufficient, variable to explain the degree of international projection.

Article available at Brill.com

Elena Albina
Abstract

This article deliberates on the effects of sub-nationalism on the profile of a region in external relations. The questions under consideration in the present contribution are: (1) does nationalism make the external relations of a region conflictual vis-à-vis the federal centre?; and (2) to what extent can its alleged ill effect be counter-balanced by the well-elaborated mechanism of centre-regional coordination? This article aims to contest the assumptions of mainstream thinking in the literature on paradiplomacy, which suggests that sub-nationalism might have a negative effect and that strong institutions are indispensable for a positive outcome. Relying on an analysis of external relations in Tatarstan, a republic in the Russian Federation, this contribution illustrates the crucial role of the ‘manipulative’ form of nationalism as a key factor shaping the functional character of paradiplomacy.

Article available at Brill.com

Ellen Huijgh
Abstract

Calls to involve a wide range of actors in public diplomacy are coming thick and fast. Federated entities are waiting in line, hoping to advance their international influence and search for distinctiveness and self-affirmation. Despite the increasing interest the development of most federated entities’ public diplomacy has not yet moved out of the early phases: a borderline activity of ‘nation-branding’ and ‘paradiplomacy’. This is true not only in practice but also in the current research, a situation that this article aims to amend.

To this end, it is not necessary to start anew but to expand upon more advanced cases in the field. Particular interest is given to Quebec, which is busy creating a distinct profile for public diplomacy and alluding to a more normatively inspired network model. This article examines the public diplomacy model of Quebec’s ministry of international relations, and interprets the findings for federated entities in light of new evolutions in the field. The article concludes that despite significant discourse on public diplomacy development, major reforms remain in the realm of theory.

Article available at Brill.com

Peter Bursens and Jana Deforche
Abstract

This article argues that the literature on paradiplomacy has been very successful in conceptualizing the external activities of regions and in making descriptive inventories of paradiplomatic activities and instruments. However, we also claim that it has not yet delivered satisfactory explanations for the development of regional foreign activities. The article offers a theoretical contribution to the paradiplomacy literature, suggesting that complementing paradiplomacy concepts with institutionalist theory can account for variation in the development of foreign policy powers of sub-national entities. The argument is empirically elaborated by a historical institutionalist narrative of the development of regional foreign policy powers of the Belgian sub-national entities. The article argues that the combination of the paradiplomacy agenda with historical institutional theory delivers explanatory insights into the evolution of regional foreign relations competences.

Article available at Brill.com

Stéphane Paquin
Abstract

This article aims to assess the effectiveness of two systems of governance with respect to the making of international treaties: the Canadian system, where the decision-making process is more centralized and where intergovernmental mechanisms are poorly institutionalized; and the Belgian system, where sub-state actors have the role of co-decision and where intergovernmental mechanisms are highly institutionalized. The central question to be discussed is: is the fact that one gives an important role to sub-state actors in the making of a country’s treaty by means of institutionalized intergovernmental mechanisms something that negatively or positively affects the foreign policy of a state? And is this a positive- or a negative-sum game at the level of the conclusion and implementation of treaties? The article concludes that the Belgian system is more effective, largely because its sub-state actors have an important role at every step of the conclusion of a treaty.

Article available at Brill.com

Luc Van den Brande
Abstract

In an increasingly interdependent world, Europe will need its regions to tackle the challenges of globalization effectively, and to remain a leading partner on the international scene. Regions should therefore reorient their administrations towards the European Union (EU), focus more on the EU’s rolling political agenda, and dare to better steer the EU’s decision-making process. On the flipside, the EU itself should be based upon a model of multi-level governance, allowing the EU to work in partnership with its regional and local authorities. Having experienced politics himself at all levels of governance during his career, Dr Luc Van den Brande gives his practitioner’s view to future policy-makers.

Article available at Brill.com

Article available at Brill.com

Publication date: 1 January 2010

 

Contents

Raymond Cohen
Abstract

For many years the Holy See recognized Israel de facto, but declined to open formal diplomatic relations. Historical and theological issues burdened mutual perceptions. Wishing to normalize the relationship, the Holy See and Israel concluded a Fundamental Agreement in 1993 and exchanged ambassadors. Under the terms of the accord, the parties were to negotiate further treaties on key issues of church and state. A Legal Personality Agreement was signed in 1997 but was never implemented; and another fiscal and property treaty is still being negotiated. The relationship itself, which is supposed to fulfil the promise of reconciliation between Catholics and Jews, has been ambivalent, and marked by recurrent controversy. This article surveys the issues currently under negotiation. It argues that the reasons for the reserve are structural and subjective, pointing to political, conceptual and institutional dissonances. However, the article also notes the steady progress recently made and expresses the hope that solutions can be found to contested matters.

Article available at Brill.com

Pauline L. Kerr
Abstract

The under-investigation in diplomatic studies of processes of persuasion in explaining diplomatic outcomes needs to be addressed in the interests of better scholarly explanations and diplomatic practice. Although such processes are implicit in nearly all concepts and practice of diplomacy, neither scholars nor practitioners explicitly investigate them. Yet other related fields of study and disciplines examine persuasion and demonstrate its explanatory value. Drawing on this literature, but also bearing in mind the nature of outcomes that diplomatic studies seeks to understand, this article offers a model of processes of persuasion and illustrates its potential for explaining a 2003 peace process negotiation in the Solomon Islands.

Article available at Brill.com

Steffen Bay Rasmussen
Abstract

This article examines the messages and practices of the European Union’s public diplomacy. Public diplomacy is conceptualized as a modality of diplomacy that seeks to influence foreign political discourses. The influence sought by the EU through its messages relates to the projection of its identity as an actor and to the diffusion of its own normative foundation, which are potentially conflicting objectives. EU public diplomacy is characterized by its decentralized nature, where the European Commission’s delegations in third states are the most important actors in the network ‘doing’ EU public diplomacy. The article concludes that the network organization of EU public diplomacy, although giving rise to important problems of coherence, is well adapted to the current patterns of diplomatic interaction and the pursuit of EU strategic objectives, and indeed is more effective than a more unitary actor that was able to speak with a single voice in international relations.

Article available at Brill.com

Brian Barder
Abstract

Drawing on the writer’s experience as a former British diplomat who served in Cold War Poland and elsewhere, this article explores rival concepts of the diplomat’s functions: the traditional UK Foreign Office emphasis on competitively and exclusively promoting the national interest; versus alternatively concentrating on the internationalist, ethical obligations that should govern diplomatic (and other) behaviour. Interference in the host country’s internal affairs is formally prohibited, but the question of whether diplomats’ contacts with, and implied moral support for, democratic dissident movements that are opposed to their undemocratic governments amount to unacceptable intervention raises difficult practical, political and ethical questions. An example of differing possible responses to a development aid proposal illustrates the dilemma. Differing views of diplomatic priorities and objectives, embedded in contrasting cultures at the UK Foreign Office and Department for International Development respectively, need to be sensitively resolved, mainly in the latter’s favour.

Article available at Brill.com

Bruce Gregory

Book reviewed:

  • Kenneth A. Osgood and Brian C. Etheridge (eds.), The United States and Public Diplomacy: New Directions in Cultural and International History. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2010.

Article available at Brill.com

Seung-young Kim

Book reviewed:

  • Juergen Kleiner, Diplomatic Practice: Between Tradition and Innovation. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, 2009.

Article available at Brill.com

G.R. Berridge

Book reviewed:

  • Charles A. Kupchan, How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2010.

Article available at Brill.com

Article available at Brill.com

Publication date: 1 January 2010

 

Issue 4: China's Evolving Diplomacy

Special issue edited by Ingrid d'Hooghe and Chen Zhimin

Issue 4 at Brill.com

Contents

Ingrid d’Hooghe and Chen Zhimin

Article available at Brill.com

Su Changhe
Abstract

There is growing interest in the role of sub-central actors in Chinese diplomatic evolution. This study explores Chinese diplomatic transformation from the perspective of so-called ‘multi-actors’. It begins with a discussion about the interaction of domestic and international politics, a context where Chinese diplomacy has transformed, and then identifies the roles of local governments, governmental agencies, NGOs and enterprises in China’s changing diplomatic system. The article suggests that these new groups of actors (referred to here as multi-actors) have become important factors to be reckoned with in the Chinese diplomatic system, although their roles are still limited compared with the central government. The article concludes that the establishment of a well-organized diplomatic system, which can be used to coordinate different actors and address transnational issues, will be an enduring challenge for the undergoing reform of the Chinese diplomatic system.

Article available at Brill.com

Jian Junbo, Chen Zhimin and Chen Diyu
Abstract

China’s diplomacy has become increasingly multi-layered, as provinces and cities step up efforts to expand their networks and involvement in foreign affairs. This article aims to provide a general picture about how Chinese provinces feature in the overall Chinese foreign policy system. Specifically, the article uses two cases to illustrate how such a multi-layered diplomatic system functions to meet the interests of the national and local governments. The first case discusses the role of Yunnan province in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Economic Cooperation. Yunnan’s involvement in GMS as a local actor demonstrates how cross-border cooperation has served local developmental interest as well as China’s national foreign policy goals. It also gave rise to a new form in China’s multi-layered diplomacy, namely multi-layered multilateral diplomacy. The second case is the engagement of China’s provinces in Africa. The article identifies Chinese provinces’ roles in Africa as traders, investors, aid providers and intergovernmental actors. The article also discusses how foreign countries and China itself should cope with China’s new multi-layered engagement in international affairs.

Article available at Brill.com

Zhao Suisheng
Abstract

This article explores a controversial issue of Chinese foreign policy: whether the Hu leadership has abandoned Deng Xiaoping’s taoguang yanghui policy — hiding one’s capabilities and biding one’s time — and reoriented Chinese foreign policy towards a more assertive, if not more aggressive, direction. This is controversial because while China in public still insists that it follows the taoguang yanghui policy established by Deng in the early 1990s; Chinese diplomacy has become increasingly active and assertive since Hu came to power, particularly since the 2008-2009 global economic crisis. This article argues that as a rising power, an active foreign policy has become a necessity rather than a luxury for China. This diplomatic activism marks a certain departure from the taoguang yanghui policy, but the Hu leadership is still juggling China’s taoguang yanghui policy with its emerging role as a global power. One defining tension in China’s foreign policy agenda is to find a balance between expanding China’s international influence and taking more international responsibility on the one hand and continuing to play down its pretence of being a global power and avoiding confrontation with the United States on the other.

Article available at Brill.com

Frank Gaenssmantel
Abstract

This article investigates the sudden rise and subsequent slow decline of the European Union (EU) in Chinese diplomacy between 2002 and 2007. China’s decision in 2003 to consider relations with the EU as ‘strategic’ in nature does not reflect a fundamental change of mind but rather a perception of favourable circumstances. China has a long track record of high expectations towards a united Europe. After the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations had created a positive image of a united and independent EU, the transatlantic rift over the Iraq War in 2002 and 2003 seemed to present an international environment that was conducive to stronger China‐EU ties. Subsequently, however, the difficulties of engaging with a complex entity like the EU have contributed to souring diplomatic relations. This development is traced for two major cases of Chinese foreign policy towards the EU: the quest for recognition as a market economy; and the push to have the EU’s arms embargo lifted. Over time, Chinese engagement with the EU on these issues has gone through different phases, reflecting repeated attempts to improve the diplomatic approach, to eliminate unsuccessful strategies and to react to EU feedback. China has not yet reached its goal on either issue. The article concludes by pointing to the specific difficulties that have emerged from the evolution of Chinese diplomacy towards the EU on these two cases.

Article available at Brill.com

Cheng Ruisheng
Abstract

During the political storm in Myanmar (Burma) in 1988, China adhered to a policy of non-interference, non-involvement and keeping aloof, in conformity with the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which has been jointly initiated by China, India and Myanmar in 1954. This enabled China to restore gradually its traditional friendly relations with Myanmar when the situation became stable again after the military takeover in September 1988. At the same time, China kept friendly contacts with the opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi until she was placed under house arrest in 1989. Cheng Ruisheng served as China’s Ambassador to Myanmar from 1987 to 1991 and is now the only person in the Chinese Foreign Ministry who is personally acquainted with Aung San Suu Kyi. By sharing recollections of his time in Yangon, Cheng Ruisheng provides valuable insights into the principles and practice of China’s diplomacy.

Article available at Brill.com

Publication date: 1 January 2010

 

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