Contenu du sommaire : Pouvoirs locaux et régionaux dans les relations internationales

This article argues that, contrary to other forms of territorial diplomacy, cross-border cooperation is practiced in parallel and in a complementary manner to the external action of European states. It is therefore encouraged by these states and also by the European Union (EU). It started early after the Second World War, from the 1950s onwards. After a pioneer phase of experimentation and legitimization by the states, it became an integral part of the EU multi-level-governance system in the 1990s. However, the fact that it is a complementary secondary foreign policy with regard to the state does not necessarily mean that it is a guarantee for the success of this form of territorial diplomacy.

The article delves into the opportunities and risks of external action by regions and municipalities in South America. They have built dynamic and very active networks (e.g. Mercociudades, Zicosur). In this way, their proposals are well accepted by states and inter-state organisations (e.g. Mercosur, bilateral agreements). Local authorities thus carry out their own projects on a South American scale and participate more actively in the construction of public policies such as border crossing, transnational management, and the enlargement of the international cooperation agenda. Such actions coincide with the decentralisation processes initiated in the 1980s in order to promote local development.

The city of Nantes, the Loire-Atlantique Département and Nantes metropole have built relations with foreign partners over several years. Through their external actions, these French local authorities have made capacity-building a priority. In 2013, Nantes Metropole had the ambition of putting its North-South territorial diplomacy at the service of development through South-South territorial diplomacy. This article discusses the diplomatic nature of these initial North-South relations and their potential as a contribution to South-South territorial diplomacy.

The twinning of towns was implemented in Europe in the 1950s in order to promote the European idea among the European population. The study of their origin shows that they have been influenced by the Scandinavian friendship-towns, an initiative of the Norden associations. The interactions between public and private actors at a local level shows the complexity of these popular diplomacy practices and highlights the important role of the international organizations in its spreading.

This paper aims at providing a short survey of the development of international action in the city of Lille and its agglomeration. It focuses on three aspects: 1) politics, with the legitimacy and leadership of the involved communities, 2) geography, with the spatial extent of relations, and 3) history, through the continuity of action and its possible disruptions. The late 1980s were a turning-point: after the town-twinning phenomenon of the 1950s, the international action diversified at the same time as a metropolitan project was clearly asserted by the inter-municipal community created in 1968 (which became the Lille European Metropolis [MEL] in 2015). This action was materialized through multi-scale cooperation, which occurred across the border with neighbouring Belgian communities, but also on a European, or even global level in order to reinforce the region's attractiveness and to promote a spirit of solidarity.

During the 1980s, European local authorities witnessed the birth of scientific diplomacy. The European project and economic globalization forced a number of universities and other public and private institutions into cross border dialogue. The Franco German Swiss region in the Upper Rhine exemplifies this new diplomacy. Complex and ambitious trinational projects on environmental and technological concerns were implemented.

Sub-state governmental actors are increasingly engaging in para-diplomacy to promote their interests internationally. Yet, not all para-diplomatic engagement has the same reception at the international stage. In fact, in some cases, particularly those with secession undertones, sub-state actors encounter friction and obstruction to their para-diplomacy, typically from state-level foreign policy; a process which we term counter-para-diplomacy. In fact, in some cases, sub-state actors encounter friction and obstacles to their para-diplomacy. These obstructions generally come from state-level foreign policy, especially when they concern cases in which secession undertones are embedded. We term this process counter-para-diplomacy. This article focuses on the para-diplomatic strategies pursued by Catalonia, and the corresponding counter-para-diplomatic measures employed by Spain during the turbulent period of 2012-2017. The paper argues that Catalonia's para-diplomatic objectives have been severely affected by Spain's counter-para-diplomatic strategies, and that these strategies have become a pillar of Spain's foreign policy.

According to French foreign policy, European integration and Détente were intended to strengthen – each in its own way – European nation states against the superpowers. However, the communitarization of trade policy led to uncertainties and difficulties in the relations with Romania and Hungary during the 1970s. The risk of a decrease in trade flows between the two blocs proved to be totally wrong. But the impact on the political level was obvious. However, French diplomacy was able to join together the West-European, East-European and global dimensions, in order to pursue two interconnected goals: ensuring the maintenance of French power and bringing together the two Europes.