The Role of Cities in the Foreign Policy of Emerging Powers: the Cases of Bogotá, Colombia and Johannesburg, South Africa
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THE ROLE OF CITIES IN THE FOREIGN POLICY OF EMERGING POWERS: THE CASES OF BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA AND JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Town JERÓNIMO DELGADO CAICEDOCape of THESIS PRESENTEDUniversity FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE, FACULTY OF HUMANITIES, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN DECEMBER, 2017 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University DECLARATION I, Jerónimo Delgado Caicedo, declare that this thesis is my own unaided work. It is being submitted to the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the University of Cape Town. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination to any other University. ………………………………… 11 December, 2017 ii ABSTRACT Cities are increasingly important actors in the current International System. Cities fall under the jurisdiction of States where they play a fundamental role in the making and consolidation of emerging powers. In today’s State-centred International System, cities are underexamined in the field of foreign policy, a domain that is exclusively that of national governments. Using the cases of Colombia (Bogotá) and South Africa (Johannesburg), this thesis draws from multilingual sources to examine the role of cities in the foreign policy of emerging powers of the Global South. An interdisciplinary approach indicates that, by drawing together debates across International Relations and Urban Studies literature, there is little to no place for the conceptual and operational cross pollination necessary to engage the increasing importance of cities in the emerging powers of the Global South. The weak interface between cities and States in foreign policy is thus failing to inform local-national government interactions over global positioning and masks critical national actors in the evolution of cities. Through a geopolitical analysis, this thesis engages the conceptual and operational ambiguity around ‘emerging powers’ by demonstrating how at both the national and city scale notions of ‘power resources’, ‘leadership’ and ‘international recognition’ are actualised in the emerging powers of Colombia and South Africa. By tracking the ways that Bogotá and Johannesburg operate internationally, cities are, despite the lack of formal acknowledgement or endorsement of the nations’ foreign affairs machinery, shown to be crucial contributors to their countries’ emergence in the world. An analysis of primary sources in both Colombia and South Africa shows a mismatch between the city and the State in foreign policy caused by dynamics occurring both at national and local levels. The constitutional and legal ambiguities on decentralisation and foreign policy found in Colombia and South Africa make it extremely difficult to determine the how far sub-national entities can go in their burgeoning international engagements. The State-centred approach to foreign policy that is found in both countries contributes greatly to a general disregard for the city in international relations. Finally, the thesis reveals how the increased importance of cities in the global agenda and the proliferation of international associations of cities provides emerging cities such as iii Bogotá or Johannesburg with an alternative space in which to defend their own city interests without the help of the national governments. The thesis concludes by demonstrating that, while it is important that national governments make sure cities have a voice in the International System, changes also need to be made at the domestic level, both in national and local governments, in order to achieve functioning levels of understanding and co-operation between the city and the State in the making and implementation of the foreign policy of emerging powers. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When deciding where to do a PhD, many Southern students choose to go North to Europe or North America. I, instead, knew my place was in the South. Then, when I decided to do my studies in South Africa, a few eyebrows were raised and some jaws were dropped. It was not a ‘normal’ place for someone from Colombia to do his PhD… But it was my place. All these years in South Africa have proved me right. Cape Town and South Africa have taught me more than I could ever imagined. They became not only my temporary home, but also a permanent source of learning and inspiration. South Africa also provided me with some amazing people who supported and guided me through this journey. My outmost gratitude and respect go to my supervisor, Prof. Susan Parnell, for her generous support, encouragement and guidance. Her teachings and wisdom will always be present in both my personal and academic lives. A gigantic ¡gracias! to Nancy Odendaal not only for encouraging me to embark on this intellectual adventure, but also for her unconditional friendship and emotional support. My gratitude to Sharon Adams who took me under her wing and became a shining light in my days. To Fahdelah, Mike, Pippin, Andrea, Rifquah, Sharon, Saskia, Megan and Joré, thank you for making my days at UCT an absolute delight. To Fabio, Hannah, Mokgadi, JP, Stef, Johan, Amale, Gary, Patricia, Jonathan, Theunis, Alan and Jacques, thank you for all the amazing moments and, especially, for being my family away from home. Even in the distance, the permanent support of my family and friends in Colombia was crucial during this journey. My love and appreciation go to my mother Eliana, my father Humberto, my brother Sebastián and my aunt Ximena. Their calls and words of encouragement proved once more that family is where life begins and love never ends. They will always be my happiness and my strength. Ana María, Jairo, Martha, Claudia, Jhósep, Milton, Érick, Catalina and Olga kept me going through permanent laughs, visits and unconditional support. My heartfelt gratitude to all of them. Finally, crossing the Atlantic would not have been possible without the generous financial support from the Universidad Externado de Colombia in Bogotá whom I thank profoundly for investing in my future. My special gratitude to Dr. Juan Carlos Henao, v Roberto Hinestrosa, Roberto Núñez and Clara Inés Rey for believing in me and allowing me to embark in this academic adventure. A todos ellos, ¡gracias! vi CONTENTS Declaration ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Contents vii List of Tables and Figures xii Acronyms xv PART 1 1 : Introduction 1 1.1. Method 6 1.2. Chapter outline 11 : International Relations and Urban Studies: Two disciplines, an embryonic relationship 14 2.1. International Relations, a State-centred discipline 16 2.1.1. Westphalia and the sovereignty of the State: No place for the city 16 2.1.2. Cities and the increasingly irrelevant State-centric model 19 2.1.3. City leaders as foreign policy actors 21 2.1.4. Emerging powers as city-less places? 22 2.1.5. Even in silence, cities are present – a few exceptions in the International Relations literature 24 2.2. Urban Studies: A shift towards the Global South bypasses the State 28 2.2.1. The emergence of Southern global cities and the eroding role of the State 29 2.2.2. Cities as the epicentres of a State’s economic power 32 2.3. Paradiplomacy, a different path 35 2.4. Conclusion 38 vii PART 2: OVERCOMING ABYSSAL THINKING: AN ANALYSIS OF EMERGING POWERS OF THE GLOBAL SOUTH IN TODAY’S INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM 40 : Reclaiming a place for the Global South: A conceptual framework of emerging powers 43 3.1. The State and its International Relations 44 3.1.1. The State 44 3.1.2. Foreign policy 48 3.1.3. International insertion 49 3.1.4. Global South 50 3.2. A new International System: The emergence of the South 53 3.3. Conclusion 61 : Power hierarchies in the International System and the improving role of emerging powers 63 4.1. The power hierarchies in the International System 64 4.2. Selected categories of power in the International System 71 4.2.1. Superpowers 71 4.2.2. Middle powers (traditional and emerging) and secondary middle powers 74 4.2.3. Small powers and microstates 81 4.2. Conclusion 82 PART 3: THE POWER RESOURCES OF EMERGING POWERS: DO CITIES MATTER? THE CASES OF BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA AND JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA 84 : Colombia, an emerging power in spite of its past. Bogotá, its powerhouse 90 5.1. Understanding the territory: A geospatial analysis of Colombia and Bogotá 90 5.2. Demographic dimension: The importance of the people 97 5.3. Economic dimension: A key variable for emergence 102 5.4. Socio-economic dimension, improving human development 108 viii 5.5. The military dimension of power 112 5.6. Colombian power resources: A conclusion 117 : South Africa and Johannesburg: The contradictions of an African emerging power 119 6.1. Location is not everything: Understanding the South African territory 123 6.2. Demographic dimension: Overcoming apartheid 133 6.3. Economic dimension: Africa’s powerhouse? 143 6.4. Socio-economic dimension: Overcoming inequality in South Africa 154 6.5. South Africa’s military: From threat to peacekeeper 160 6.6. South African power resources: A conclusion 165 : Leadership and international recognition: Two parallel processes for national and local governments in Colombia and South Africa 167 7.1. Colombia’s take off as an emerging power 169 7.1.1. Going global, a shift in Colombia’s foreign policy 169 7.1.2. The new shining stars: The changing international perception of Colombia and Bogotá 178 7.1.3. Colombia and Bogotá emerging in parallel: A conclusion 183 7.2.