As determinantes locais da paradiplomacia: o caso dos municípios ...

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There is a third type of paradiplomacy that is driven primarily by political and cultural
considerations, although the economic dimension is certainly not absent. This paradiplomacy features
prominently the international expression of an identity distinct from the one projected by the central state.
It tends to be very ambitious; this is not always manifested in the scope of its networks (some are fairly
specifically targeted) but in the logic driving the international ventures. Here, regional governments seek
to develop a set of international relations that will affirm the cultural distinctiveness, political autonomy,
and, indeed, the national character of the community they represent. (LECOURS, 2007, p. 119, 120)
Apesar de esses casos serem minoria no universo das atividades paradiplomáticas,
eles se destacam pelo fato de estarem presentes nos exemplos mais desenvolvidos e bem
sucedidos de relações transnacionais de regiões. Nesse sentido,
Nationalism is no doubt one of the most significant variables, yet it remains one of the most neglected in
relation to the study of paradiplomacy. Minority nations that plan international strategies within
multicultural states are a well-known and quite common phenomenon. The most active sub-state powers
in the field of international relations (Flanders, Walloonie, Quebec, Catalonia, the Basque Homeland) all
share a single attribute: nationalism. (LACHAPELLE e PAQUIN, 2005, p. 82).
Lecours (2008, p. 119) pensa da mesma forma ao apontar que “the Basque Country,
as well as other cases of multidimensional and ambitious paradiplomacy such as in Cataluña,
Quebec, and Flanders, all share one underlying feature: nationalism”. Baseado nos exemplos
de regiões citadas pelos autores pode-se identificar que essa variável, mesmo que restrita a
poucos casos, é fundamental para entender a paradiplomacia das regiões que mais
desenvolveram atividades desse tipo.
Mostrar-se-á em um caso específico, o do País Basco, como essa determinante se
relaciona com a paradiplomacia. A região já foi alvo de alguns estudos e serve de exemplo de
como a identidade e a cultura, que em alguns casos resultam no nacionalismo, levam à
atividade paradiplomática.
Para Lecours,
Basque paradiplomacy is primarily about identity politics. This is not to say that this paradiplomacy is not
concerned with achieving economic gains through, for example, the facilitation of exports, but only that
its scope and intensity are a function of nationalism. The idea of a connection between identity and
paradiplomacy does not mean that distinctive collective identities necessarily lead to cases of
paradiplomacy such as the Basque Country’s. In other words, the (…) argument is not that the Basque
Country conducts international relations because many Basques feel more Basque than Spanish; this
would be an oversimplification. Rather, the idea put forward here is that the development of foreign
affairs by the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country is the consequence of a nationalist
movement.” (LECOURS, 2007, p. 114, 115).
Há um contexto histórico próprio no surgimento e no desenvolvimento da
paradiplomacia basca, assim como nos outros casos supracitados. Esse contexto é
fundamentalmente, mas não unicamente, baseado em uma noção identitária própria e
diferenciada da do governo central. O nacionalismo presente na região possui várias