Paradiplomacy beyond Territorial Straps

Frequently used to frame paradiplomacy phenomena, multi-level governance (MLG) literature has long recognized the possibility of sub-state governments (i.e., cities and regions) engaging in policy-making processes within governance systems. Yet, these prospects have always been kept within the limits of hierarchy imposed by territorial embeddedness found in MLG systems. Interestingly, increasing polycentric structures in global governance offer the contrasting feature of heterarchy, with overlapping centers of decision-making authority functioning as autonomous self-governing units. Although polycentric elements may be found in multi-level governance systems, polycentric governance renders new possibilities to regional and local governments from unitary, decentralized, and federal contexts to move beyond MLG's ‘straight jacket’ in global governance. Taking the rise of polycentrism as a turning point in paradiplomacy, the purpose of this chapter is threefold: (i) recall the conceptual definitions of multi-level governance and polycentrism; (ii) examine the contrasts and similarities between multi-level governance and polycentrism; and (iii) acknowledge differentiated paradiplomatic experiences within multi-level and polycentric governance systems. In sum, by presenting a fresher conceptual debate between multi-level governance and polycentrism, this chapter offers new insights into how sub-state governments in a polycentric context can leverage a governance shift that can loosen territorial straps on paradiplomacy conventionally found in MLG systems.