The domestic sources of sub-state foreign policymaking: determinants of subnational development cooperation across European regions

Reinsberg, B. and Dellepiane, S. (2023) The domestic sources of sub-state foreign policymaking: determinants of subnational development cooperation across European regions. Journal of European Public Policy, 30(5), pp. 922-947. (doi: 10.1080/13501763.2022.2055111)

Abstract

Subnational governments have come to challenge the foreign policymaking monopoly of national governments. An increasingly salient area of sub-state foreign policymaking is international development cooperation, but systematic knowledge about the drivers of such activities is limited. We argue that subnational governments develop capacities for international development cooperation for domestic region-building purposes, geared toward advancing political claims for regional autonomy that can take institutional, political, and cultural representations. To test this argument, we construct a new dataset of 195 politically relevant European regions which maps the autonomous engagement of regions in international development cooperation. Large-N regression analysis establishes that regions are significantly more likely to be engaged in international development cooperation where they have greater constitutional autonomy, cultural-linguistic distinctiveness, and a regionally-based party to advance the regional agenda. These results have important implications for our understanding of sub-state foreign policy actors and their role in the global governance of development.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Funding from the Carnegie Trust (“Subnational development cooperation: A new research agenda”) is gratefully acknowledged.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Reinsberg, Dr Bernhard
• Authors: Reinsberg, B., and Dellepiane, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Journal of European Public Policy
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 1350-1763
• ISSN (Online): 1466-4429
• Published Online: 28 March 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of European Public Policy 30(5): 922-947
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License
• Data DOI: 10.7910/DVN/9CPF8J