(Nearly) outside the shadow of hierarchy: An enquiry into the teleology of municipal paradiplomacy in the EU

Abstract

Local authorities have increasingly deployed instruments and practises proper of the international diplomatic repertoire - a phenomenon referred in the literature as paradiplomacy. These state-like diplomatic praxes, ranging from participating in transnational networks to signing international agreements, hint at an increased room for manoeuvre for local authorities, in that they occur without the intervention and control of the central state. While emulating states' international behaviour, municipal paradiplomacy displays distinctive features and purposes. Drawing on the scholarship on paradiplomacy, this article provides a theoretical reflection on the teleology of municipal paradiplomatic practices. By proceeding through parallelism with state diplomacy's objectives, this article identifies three functional equivalents that constitute the primary teloi of paradiplomacy; namely, municipal self-determination, influence and contention. By delving into the aims of municipal paradiplomacy, the article points out how municipal paradiplomacy constitutes a valuable means for municipalities to progressively free themselves from the grip of the central state.