Paradiplomacy and the democratisation of foreign policy in South Africa

Over the years, the logic that decentralisation is the territorial twin of democracy has been employed in the domain of foreign policy to advocate for the transfer of international relations prerogatives to subnational governments (SNGs). Proponents of this argument contend that, because of the proximity of SNGs to local communities, the territorial decentralisation of elements of foreign policy, or paradiplomacy, has the potential to engender greater citizen awareness, interest and participation in international affairs, and thus contribute to the democratisation of foreign policy. This paper draws insight from the paradiplomacy of three South African provinces to assess the extent to which the foreign relations of provincial governments represent a model process that contributes to the democratisation of foreign policy. It argues that, in the absence of effective mechanisms to promote meaningful deliberation, accountability, transparency and representation in the provinces, paradiplomacy has done little more than encourage the monopolisation by subnational elites of the few foreign policy prerogatives that Pretoria has transferred to provincial governments.