From Local to Global: Examining Sister City Cooperation as Paradiplomacy Practice in Denpasar City, Bali, Indonesia

This research aims to examine the sister city cooperation as paradiplomacy practice to establish international relations in Denpasar City, Bali, Indonesia, through the multidisciplinary perspectives of Legal and International Relations studies. This research seeks to answer how Denpasar City, Bali conducts its paradiplomacy through sister cities to build international cooperation and the legal and social challenges. The implementation of three layers of paradiplomacy, according to Lecours (2008), which consists of the economic issue (first layer), cultural, educational, technological, and other multidimensional aspects (second layer), and political considerations (third layer), will be determined by using interview methods and International Relations literature studies. The legal corridor of conducting paradiplomacy, as it assesses the legal basis and limitation for local government to interact with international actors, will be explored using the data collected through legal instruments and legal literature studies. The research used a qualitative empirical approach to connect both disciplines. The results show that Denpasar’s sister city cooperation can be classified as the first layer (economy) and the second layer (culture, education, and technology) of paradiplomacy practice, whereas the third layer (politics) is excluded from this cooperation. Denpasar faces several challenges in conducting its sister city plans of action, such as legal obstacles, continuity of the cooperation, human resources limitation, funding reallocation, and limited citizen participation. The COVID-19 pandemic affects the implementation of the planned sister city cooperation.

PROPOSED COPING SUGGESTIONS AND STRATEGIES TO SOLVE THE TRUST DEFICIT FOR THE INDIANS AND CHINESE MEDIA IN THE POSTCOVID-19 ERA

The rise of India and China is a major historical developmental trend that has led to peaceful India-China media cooperation. From a long-term strategic point of view, the Indian and Chinese media platforms should seek common ground while overcoming differences and increasing mutual trust. The governments of India and China should grasp the dominant power of public opinion in traditional media, new media and self-media platforms. We must increase the number of each other's reporting stations and media branches to promote the "opposite column" in the content of the mainstream media. Meanwhile both sides should strengthen the training of reporters and journalist, thus improve the existing India-China media cooperation systems and gradually cut mutual misunderstandings by building friendly provinces, sister cities, and cultural and tourism exchange projects to jointly serve the two countries' national strategy for the smooth realization of a peaceful rise.

Menuju Surabaya Green City Melalui Kerjasama Kota Kembar Surabaya-Kitakyushu

The sister city collaboration between Surabaya and Kitakyushu is an example of the active cooperation of local governments in Indonesia. Conceptually, this kind of cooperation is also called paradiplomacy or diplomatic activity carried out by local governments with other regions in foreign countries. This article takes a case study of the sister cities of Surabaya and Kitakyushu to then look at the institutionalization aspect as a dimension that can be seen from paradiplomacy. Using the Surabaya point of view, the institutionalization points that the writer will review in this article are (1) the formation of a special ministry or department; (2) establishment of permanent subnational offices; (3) official visits of regional authorities to foreign territories and countries; (4) participation in various international events organized by foreign actors; (5) formation and participation in multilateral global & cross-border regional networks and working groups in specific fields; and (6) regional authorization participation in international events organized by foreign entities in official delegations of the central government.

Bangladesh - China Bilateral Relations: Current Trend Analysis

Bangladesh – China relationship has been fantastic by the political, monetary and military ties throughout the most recent few decades. Key relations among Bangladesh and China were set up in 1976, and to be straightforward, various specialists on worldwide relations dissected the method of two-sided relations since the establishment of placating relations 45 years back, and applauded dynamic joint effort and affiliation that have been preceding between the two countries various regions of common interest. They reviewed that the relations between the people of these two nations go back to hundreds of years. However, it is emphasized that the progressive heads of these two nations made significant commitments to the advancement of China-Bangladesh relations. Moreover, it can be mentioned that the solidification and upgradation of China-Bangladesh relation and participation serve the major interests of these two nations, meet the regular goals of the people and help towards building harmony and improvement in the areas of development. Thus it is suggested that a "Closer Complete Organization of Participation" between China and Bangladesh is set up based on the standards of longstanding kinship, uniformity, and shared advantage. With the unique initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the two nations have assented to keep on state visits and contacts between government associations, parliaments, philosophical gatherings, military, and non-authoritative social occasions of the two countries; advance correspondence and coordinated effort at the public authority level. Her administration empowers to redesign the investment instruments, including key gatherings, the Joint Monetary and Exchange Board of trustees and Joint Horticulture Council. Various gatherings have been attempting to heighten support in return, hypothesis, cultivation, transportation and structure improvement dependent on value and basic benefit between the two countries. "Belt and Road Initiative" has been contributory to develop the shared interest of the two nations. “Sister Cities” alliance is the last addition to deepen the mutual interest of both countries. This paper is aimed to investigate current trade, agreements, investment, agriculture, transportation and infrastructural development in the pursuit of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and China. This article has tremendously attempted to disclose the present pattern of two-sided relations between Bangladesh and China under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina in the office of Prime Minister in Bangladesh. Article has been worked out based on literature review and analysis has been made consulting the recent scholarships.

Factors of International Activity of Russian Cities: The Results of the Empirical Analysis

The international activities of governments at the subnational level have become widespread practice. Cooperation between local authorities, which began in Europe with the aim of promoting peace, international understanding, and reconciliation between peoples in the post-war period, has spread throughout the world over time. International cityto- city partnerships, also known as sister cities, have become an instrument for promoting economic development. The movement of sister cities is considered not only as a form of cross-border intermunicipal cooperation, but also as one of the aspects of paradiplomacy. One of the consequences of regionalization that swept post-Soviet Russia in the 1990s was the growth of foreign economic activity, international contacts of both Russian regions and cities. This is reflected in the signing of intermunicipal agreements. This research is aimed at determining the factors on which the international activity of Russian cities depends. The theoretical and methodological basis of the work was the concept of paradiplomacy in general and city diplomacy in particular. The author put forward several hypotheses in the framework of the approaches to high international activity of cities existing in the scientific literature. The database was a list of sister cities, including 150 Russian municipalities compiled by the International Association of Related Cities. Statistical calculations were performed by multiple linear regression. As a result of the study, it was found that a large number of sister cities are observed in Russian cities, which can be attributed to megacities and large cities. It was revealed that a high level of international activity of Russian cities is characteristic of municipalities located in border regions. It is shown that economic characteristics directly affect the number of contracts. The author came to the conclusion that the status of the administrative center of Russian regions positively affects on the number of sister cities. The article emphasizes the influence of the historical heritage of territories on the development of inter-municipal cultural cooperation. In conclusion, it is noted that the influence of demographic, geographical, economic, political, legal, and cultural-historical features of municipalities on the number of sister cities does not explain all cases. The author believes that the political factor has a certain explanatory power.

“They’re Really Family!”: Discursive Dynamics of Municipal Twinnings Between Louisiana and Acadian Communities of the Maritime Provinces

Whether considered as a form of “diplomacy by cities,” as a strategy for small and mid-sized communities to assert their role amidst globalization, or as a means of territorial cooperation, twinnings between municipalities of different countries represent a common and oft celebrated facet of contemporary transnationalization. Sister cities in Louisiana and Canada’s Maritime Provinces play an important part in the transnational networks among populations of the Acadian diaspora, a people “scattered to the wind” in the eighteenth century after mass deportation by British authorities. There are currently 12 such twinnings, and partnerships with the French-speaking world figure prominently in external subnational relations across the Maritimes, especially in New Brunswick. This article examines emerging discourses of diasporic Acadian identity through municipal twinnings between Louisiana and l’Acadie des Maritimes. After a general profile of twinnings in the Maritimes, I analyze the evolution of language used in sister-city agreements before offering examples of sister cities’ unique contribution to a sense of diasporic belonging.