Sub-state diplomacy and the foreign policy-development nexus in South Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	Sub-state diplomacy and the foreign policy-development nexus in South Africa
Author:	Nganje, Fritz
Year:	2016
Periodical:	South African Journal of International Affairs (ISSN 1938-0275)
Volume:	23
Issue:	1
Pages:	1-20
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	foreign policy diplomacy regional government municipal government international relations
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1080/10220461.2016.1154889
Abstract:	This article examines the role of sub-state diplomacy, defined as the transnational linkages of sub-national governments, in bridging the gap between foreign policy and the domestic development agenda in South Africa. It argues that, as territorial sub-state actors, provinces and municipalities are strategically positioned to use their international relations to make foreign policy more responsive to domestic socio-economic priorities. In the South African case, however, this potential is yet to be fully realised, mainly because of institutional fragmentation of the foreign policy apparatus, but also owing to enduring challenges in the foreign activities of sub-national governments. The article concludes by making the case for a new diplomatic paradigm in South Africa, one that actively promotes and harnesses the foreign activities and capacities of different national stakeholders, including those of sub-national governments, in the interest of the domestic development agenda. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]