Track: Case Studies

Abstract

Paradiplomacy is the practice of international relations carried out by sub-state actors in a country. Along with the development of international relations practices, sub-state actors such as provinces and cities also have the authority to carry out foreign cooperation. Through international cooperation with provinces or cities in other countries, provinces or cities will have the opportunity to meet their own specific needs. In this regard, this paper will present a mini-review of the literature related to the study of paradiplomacy. This paper presented a summary and analysis based on the findings found in the journal articles. A mini-review on paradiplomacy was conducted by reading and analysing 30 journal articles. These articles are summarised in two tables below. The first table contains information about the journal article regarding the title, authors, publishers, and publication year. The second table represents the journal articles' contents, including the title, objectives of the study, results, and recommendations. There were various findings obtained from analysing this journal article; first, there were still unclear provinces regarding the institution that had the authority to conduct international relations within the framework of paradiplomacy. The institutions were very important in optimising the practice of paradiplomacy. Second, the provincial / city orders have not yet understood the practice of paradiplomacy. Provinces/cities were only waiting for instructions from the central government regarding international cooperation. Third, the practice of paradiplomacy is suspected as a way for the province to get support from international parties to have legality and international recognition. The central government's position had the highest authority and had obliged to supervise paradiplomacy activities carried out by each province of the country. There was no space for separatist groups to find international support.

Keywords: Paradiplomacy, soft power, development, mini-review approach