The new policy paper prepared by the Central European Institute of Asian Studies in collaboration with the Association for International Affairs provides a comprehensive account of Czech and Slovak paradiplomatic activity towards China.
Classifying and investigating sub-national relations plays a crucial role in our understanding of China-Europe relations and the actors involved in them. With China becoming an increasingly salient topic of discussion in Czech and Slovak politics, CEIAS aims to zoom in on the increasing importance of paradiplomatic relations of municipal and regional administrations with their Chinese counterparts.
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Under the Radar: Mapping the Czech and Slovak local governments’ ties to China
To this end, CEAIS has conducted an extensive mapping of interactions with China on the sub-national level in Czechia and Slovakia.
The study takes into account the 8 self-governing regions of Slovakia and 13 self-governing regions of Czechia and the capital city Prague. On the municipal level, they have investigated the ties with China among 79 county-level cities in Slovakia.
In Czechia, the study included 205 municipalities with extended powers. Given the particularities of municipal organization in some larger cities (e.g. Prague in Czechia, or Bratislava and Košice in Slovakia), they have also considered their districts as independent actors, given that they elect their mayors and councils, and perform independent self-governance functions.
In Bratislava, 17 such municipal districts were included. A study done in Košice included 22 districts. Similarly, in Prague, 22 districts were included in the study.
The publication is supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom
The Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) is an independent think tank with branches in the cities of Bratislava (Slovakia), Olomouc (Czech Republic), and Vienna (Austria). The main purpose of CEIAS is to spread knowledge about Asia among scholars, experts, and professionals in Central Europe and beyond, while at the same time to inform the wider world about Central European engagements with Asia
The article was originally published at: https://www.freiheit.org/central-europe-and-baltic-states/under-radar-mapping-czech-and-slovak-local-governments-ties-china
