Breaking the Glass Ceiling of International Cooperation Through Paradiplomacy

Decentralized cooperation (DC) is one of the practical strategies of paradiplomacy as it formalizes non-central actions, positions, and negotiations through agreements leading to policy programs or specific projects. DC theory and practice often replicates the International Cooperation (IC) categories used in national programs (e.g., North-South, South-South, Triangular). These categories are not fully compatible with the operations of non-central governments, given that they face limits or “glass ceilings” that restrain their actions to limited roles. How do glass ceilings work in Decentralized Cooperation? This paper challenges traditional theoretical frameworks of cooperation, examining the actorness and situatedness of non-central governments (NCG) in global processes. Non-central governments have at least three key drivers that enable them to transcend conventional IC categorizations: Pragmatism, transnationalism, and a diversity of overlapping governance schemes. Case studies worldwide suggest that NCGs experience these drivers to break glass ceilings imposed by traditional IC categories.