Extension of Paradiplomacy or Implementation of Multi-level Governance? Framing the External Relations of Sub-state Governments in the European Union

The emergence of sub-state governments (SSG) as full-fledged actors in certain domains of public policies has become routinized through the processes of institutionalization and fell into the ongoing process of political normalization. The multiplicity of actors within the state who are expressing international ambitions is considered as a challenge to the activity of central government. However, bilateral relations between them cannot be regarded in zero-sum terms in which the rise and dominance of one part undermines the other. In literature the phenomenon of external activities of SSG has been named as paradiplomacy referring to the activities conducted in parallel with the traditional diplomacy conducted by central-governments’ official representatives. Therefore, paradiplomacy reflects political aspirations deriving from the local level, and conducted with the purpose to play more independent role in international affairs and to build a positive image abroad. On the other hand, the EU supports international activities of SSG in specific policy domains (i.e. development assistance policy through the concept of decentralized cooperation in development). However, to the EU this support is enabled in a framework of Multilevel Governance (MLG), which remains far neutral in terms of sub-state governments’ political aspirations. When MLG is exercised within the EU, it enables processes of public policies, over which control is taken by the EU institutions. The aim of this article is to compare two concepts of involving sub-state governments from the EU in international affairs – paradiplomacy and MLG. To this end, basing on a comparative research design the article shows how these concepts are implemented by sub-state governments to explain and justify their rising presence in international affairs. For methodological purposes, cases were selected from three particular countries, reflecting various degrees of autonomy of constituent units and different political systems – Spain (Catalonia), United Kingdom (Scotland), Belgium (Flanders).