City Diplomacy Beyond Metrocentricity: The Case of Flanders

Abstract

City diplomacy is a rapidly growing and increasingly researched phenomenon, but to date most research has focused on major cities and eye-catching city networks. This paper extends this literature by examining city diplomacy practices in Flanders, Belgium, a region defined by its many mid-sized and smaller cities. Drawing on a combination of an exploratory survey and indepth interviews, five main themes are discussed: (i) internal organization, (ii) bilateral city diplomacy, (iii) multilateral city diplomacy, (iv) strategies and (v) motivations. We conclude that Flemish cities' city diplomacy broadly align with international trends, with their approaches increasingly centred on economic and financial motives. However, while some of the larger cities join a range of formal city networks to gain policy inspiration and international visibility, smaller cities' opportunities are much more limited and their main goal is often to get involved in projects that are funded by the European Union.