LOCAL DIPLOMACY: Policies, Practices and Tools

Editors: M. Cemil Arslan & Burcuhan Şener

MARMARA BELEDİYELER BİRLİĞİ KÜLTÜR YAYINLARI - MARMARA MUNICIPALITIES UNION PUBLICATIONS

ISBN: 978-625-8164-06-0 (13,5x21 cm, book paper)

We can mention various approaches of humanity in solving its problems. War and diplomacy are the two most prominent ones. The more destructive one is, more constructive the other is; the more power-based one is, more negotiation-based the other is; and the more closed to dialogue one is, the more open the other is. Local diplomacy is an important instrument for both negotiating global and national unresolved issues and utilizing the world's resources and opportunities through responsibility and cooperation. It must be admitted that the very concept of "local diplomacy" is off-putting for those who think that diplomacy is only applicable on the national and supranational level. In fact, the increasing importance of local diplomacy both in overcoming crises at the national level and in building a more just and equitable world is becoming more and more evident every day.
This book covers the place of local diplomacy in the discipline of international relations, diplomacy practices of cities, local diplomacy tools, the role of cities in global agenda and peace building effort, the relationship between national foreign policy and diplomacy practices of local governments, international city networks, town twinning and sister city relations, and the importance of international projects and cooperations. We hope that this book focusing on local diplomacy, a subject that has not yet found its rightful place in the international literature and which is quite open to development in practice, will open a new horizon for the readers.