The regional level of paradiplomacy (on the example of Opole Voivodeship)

Aleksandra Trzcielińska-Polus

University of Opole, Institute of Political Science
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2610-5639

Abstract

The article is divided into two parts referring to the regional pillar of foreign policy. The first part outlines changes of international activity of the European regions, including the international activity of the Polish voivodeships after a historical change in Poland at the turn of the ’80s and ’90s of the XX century came about. It is followed by a review of the selected concepts and terms applied when describing and analyzing interactions between regions and foreign entities. In the second part, a case of the activity of regional self-government of the Opole Voivodeship is studied as an illustration of regional activity within international space. The analysis is aimed at verification of the thesis according to which we can observe growing importance of activity on the sub-state level understood as a regional activity, this process being indicated, among others, by transformation of economic, cultural and political dimensions of international relations. Another purpose of the article is to address the question of what kind of gains are being derived by the Opole Voivodeship from its international cooperation? In summary, several postulates concerning the international activity of voivodeships have been proposed for regional policy’s practitioners.

Keywords:

self-government, cross-border cooperation, regional sub-state diplomacy, paradiplomacy, Opole Voivodeship