Paradiplomacy and Protodiplomacy in World Practice: A Comparative Case Study of Conflict and International Development in Quebec, Catalonia and Kurdistan

In accordance with the growing engagement of substate entities (SE) in international affairs, paradiplomacy [foreign policy actions of SEs] and protodiplomacy [secessionist form of paradiplomacy] represent an expanding debate in which SEs are characterized as: (1) “complementary” or “extra” units to traditional states, (2) neofunctionalist constituents of [European] regional integration, and (3) constructivist [green, global or nationalist] units of global governance. The level/scope of sharing state-power is a key issue in the debates setting the frontiers for paradiplomacy, eventually limiting the political-economic space for substate development in a state-centric world of politics. Beyond the mainstream views, this study proposed a new model with SEs being the “Schumpeterian” pioneers of governance, international development and conflict. In the context of dynamically evolving global political economy and the deformation/failure of post-colonial states, SEs are increasingly “pro-active” units with state-alike functions of territoriality, security, constitution making, international agreements and even “hard-policy” engagement, clearly seen in the Kurdish regions. Comparing the key intrinsic case: the quadri-regional Kurdish paradiplomacy (between Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran) with Quebec and Catalonia, this study focuses on progressive vs. antagonist policies/practices of states towards SEs. Investigating the intersection between paradiplomacy, international development and conflict in divided societies, this study argues that progressive power-sharing yields superior outcomes compared to rigid centralized systems of state-power. Solid evidence shows how SEs have diverse enhanced roles of building capacity, resilience, and self-competency in various areas of policy through the use of paradiplomacy, with the premise of tackling contemporary challenges of world politics

Emergence and nonemergence of alternating offers in bilateral bargaining

Alternating offers, Bargaining procedure, C78,