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The Influence of Strategic Subnational Diplomacy in International Relations

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Couverture briefing M.Bouchet
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The international engagement of cities and local governments has increased and diversified recently. Mainly understood by the public as the cultural and academic ties cultivated within the sister-city framework, these connections now bear deeper and more strategic implications. 

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Cities and local governments are operating across borders as they   must manage the acute effects of global challenges, such as geopolitical competition, climate change, pandemics, and migration. Local leaders must strategically update their toolbox to manage international affairs, advance their communities’ economic and social   progress, and elevate their interests in the multilateral system.

This new strategic dimension of subnational diplomacy has implications for national governments. Some ignore this phenomenon, attempt to limit it, or seek to exploit subnational relationships to advance their national interests. Others recognize the need to support subnational diplomacy as a value add in foreign policy statecraft, such as the United States.

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979-10-373-0905-1

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The Influence of Strategic Subnational Diplomacy in International Relations

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Subsaharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa Center
Accroche centre

Founded in 2007, Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa center produces an in-depth analysis of the African continent and its security, geopolitical, political and socio-economic dynamics (in particular the phenomenon of urbanization). The Center aims to be both, through various publications and conferences, a space for disseminating analyzes intended for the media and the public but also a decision-making tool for political and economic actors with regard to the continent.

The center produces analyses for various organizations such as the Ministry of the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the French Development Agency (AFD) and even for various private supports. Its researchers are regularly interviewed by parliamentary committees.

The organization of events of various formats complements the production of analyzes by bringing the different spheres of the public space (academic, political, media, economic and civil society) to meet and exchange analytical tools and visions of the continent. The Sub-Saharan Africa Center regularly welcomes political leaders from different sub-Saharan African countries.

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KAMPALA, UGANDA - SEPTEMBER 28, 2012. A look at life on the side streets of Kampala, Uganda
Governing the Urban Transition in Africa
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Sub-Saharan Africa's cities are experiencing the fastest growth rates in the world. By 2050, most of the countries in the region will have made an urban transition, meaning that more than 50% of their population will live in urban areas. Urban growth is often presented as a cornerstone of the continent's socio-economic development.

To assess these challenges Ifri’s Sub-Saharan Africa Center is launching, in May 2022, a research program looking into the major socio-economic and geopolitical challenges of urban dynamics on the continent.

The program deals with urban development in Africa through a sectoral and cross-cutting approach based on three key sectors: 

  1. Land issues are the foundation of urban life. Each urban project triggers changes within the relationship between land and its inhabitants.
  2. Urban infrastructure is often presented as a solution to the challenges of demographic growth in cities. However, the lack of infrastructure and its financing remains a concern for specialists.
  3. The mobility of goods, people and financial flows is characteristic of urban life and drives the multiple links between cities and the countryside. Analyzing the urban-rural continuum is at the heart of this program's objectives.

Research will be conducted at the macro (continental), meso (country), and micro (city/neighborhood) levels and will be promoted through events and publications.

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Rebooting Italy's Africa Policy: Making the Mattei Plan Work

Date de publication
25 November 2024
Accroche

Against the backdrop of increasing anti-French rhetoric across parts of Francophone Africa, the relative failure of the counterinsurgency operation in the central Sahel (Operation Barkhane) and diplomatic rifts with several Sahelian countries, Paris has been rethinking its relationship with the continent for several years now. As a former imperial power that has seen its colonial domain in Africa gain independence between 1956 (Morocco-Tunisia) and 1977 (Djibouti), France has invented two successive roles for itself in Africa since 1960, particularly in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.

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The dilemma of the Franco-African military relationship: reinvent or turn the page?

Date de publication
18 November 2024
Accroche

The origins of military presence and cooperation in Africa can be traced back to the tacit decolonization pact between the countries of French-speaking Africa. This cooperation led to the creation of African armies in the former colonies, as part of a project to prevent the spread of communism and maintain France's influence in the newly independent countries. 

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The Evolution of City Diplomacy in Africa: Impact, Potential, and Ongoing Challenges of African Cities’ International Activities.

Date de publication
15 November 2024
Accroche

Over the past decades, African cities have ranked among the leading players in the evolution of city diplomacy. Indeed, municipalities across the continent have gone beyond simply adapting to shifting trends in international cooperation. They have been shaping the current partnership approach that sees local authorities worldwide working together to pursue shared goals and address common urban challenges such as climate change, migration, and social justice.

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The High Authority for Peacebuilding (HACP) in Niger 2011-2023. Placing the State at the heart of conflict prevention and management.

Date de publication
06 November 2024
Accroche

Like other Sahelian countries, Niger has been affected by terrorism for almost two decades now. This issue has highlighted both the limits of these countries’ security systems and, more profoundly, their inability to offer stability to the populations of certain parts of the country. In a way, these “jihadized insurgencies” are a continuity of groups that regularly take up arms against central states.

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The Influence of Strategic Subnational Diplomacy in International Relations