Paradiplomacy: Reflections on the Foreign Policy and International Relations of Regions

The study of paradiplomacy, concerning the international activity of regional governments, opens the door to a new set of actors and issues for international negotiations. A theoretical framework based in historical institutionalism is established and several examples of paradiplomatic activity are described. The article reflects on these new international actors, external-internal linkages, and expanding the boundaries of the field of international relations and negotiation.