Conference Program

Despite more women joining the Foreign Service, there remains a consistent trend indicating that women tend to be assigned to diplomatic missions considered less prestigious. Diplomatic postings in capitals with robust economies or strong military forces are viewed as more prominent compared to those in less influential states. However, the gendered approach has mostly been incorporated to traditional diplomacy posts, while the external actions of sub-state actors (paradiplomacy) receives relatively little attention from academics. Therefore, this research aims to examine the appointments of paradiplomatic representatives abroad from the Autonomous Communities of Spain, as well as to detect potential gender tendency. This particular case is chosen due to the incorporation of sub-state actors in Spain's strategy of feminist foreign policy, which assumes the systematic integration of the gender perspective into all activities of the external projection, including paradiplomacy of Spanish regions.

To identify potential gender patterns, a mixed-method approach will be employed. Quantitative analysis will explore the correlation between the gender of paradiplomatic representatives and the status of the receiving states (considering economic factors and hardship post variables). Subsequently, qualitative analysis of interviews with the officials representing regions aims to provide a deeper understanding of the formal and informal rules that may play significant role in the appointment process for heads of representations abroad.

The literature on paradiplomacy had long identified the practice as a useful strategy for nation-building and state-building both at the national and subnational levels. By affording subnational governments the opportunity to engage directly with the outside world in promoting and enhancing their distinct identity and culture, paradiplomacy becomes a tool for pursuing greater political autonomy (Aldecoa, 1999; Sharafutdinova, 2003; Lecours and Moreno, 2003). Wolff (2007) and Ali (2023) have also underscored the potential of paradiplomacy as a nation/statebuilding mechanism in countries plagued by internal conflicts, especially those of an ethnic character. Meanwhile, a number of studies have documented the use of paradiplomacy as a mechanism for functional state-building at the subnational level (see, for example, Tubilewicz, 2017 on the case of the Province of Yunnan in China) or a strategy through which so-called unrecognised or de facto states are able to demonstrate their functional statehood in search for formal recognition of their legal existence as self-governing entities (Bartmann, 2006; Gurbey et al., 2023). Overlooked so far in the literature and debates on the state-building function of paradiplomacy is how the practice can equally be leveraged by juridical but weak nation-states to augment their functional capacity and statehood. In this paper, I use the case of cross-border cooperation between South African subnational governments and the Kingdom of Lesotho to show how paradiplomacy can fulfil an external statebuilding function. Drawing on the case study, I identify and analyse three defining features of paradiplomacy as an external sovereign state-building project.

As globalization and urbanization accelerate, cities seek collaborations across borders to address shared challenges and opportunities. Anecdotic evidence and some initial academic studies suggest that those relations are often built on social contacts established in business, academic, cultural or transnational city networks (TCNs). Personal links and engagement might be more important for developing city diplomacy than formal agreements or material interests.

This paper examines the dynamics of city-to-city cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the United States, trying to answer the question of to what extent networks and social relationships are drivers of these contacts. Drawing on survey data from nearly 750 European cities, supplemented by interviews with city officials, the paper explores different types of relations between cities assessing institutionalization, interdependencies, social contacts and the role of different networks as their drivers. To our knowledge, it will be the first large-N study to map transatlantic relations on the subnational level and employ a relational perspective, highlighting the roles of networks and social contacts.

By deciphering the labyrinthine interplay of these factors, the paper elevates the discourse on transatlantic urban diplomacy, amplifying the recognition of how interpersonal networks and social bonds contribute substantively to the intricate tapestry of cross-border municipal collaboration.