Cities and States: The Future of International Politics | Emmet Hollingshead | TEDxMacalesterCollege
Summary
TLDRThis speech highlights the transformative impact of local and state governments on international politics through initiatives like the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP), which fosters global connections. It underscores the role of smaller actors in influencing international issues, such as trade, climate change, diplomacy, and human rights. Examples include states establishing foreign trade offices, coalitions combating climate change, and cities declaring themselves human rights cities, demonstrating the growing significance of subnational entities in shaping global governance.
Takeaways
- 🌐 The speaker's internship at Global Minnesota opened their eyes to the significant role local organizations and governments can play on the global stage.
- 🌟 The International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) is a State Department-funded initiative that brings international leaders to the U.S. to foster personal connections and exchange ideas.
- 🏛️ Local and state governments are increasingly engaging in international politics, often with more direct impact on citizens' lives than national or multinational entities.
- 💼 The concept of 'local to local internationalism' is highlighted, emphasizing the importance of relationships between smaller political actors.
- 🌳 State governments are taking the lead on international trade, with some opening foreign trade offices to attract investment and support local businesses in global markets.
- 🌍 States are forming international coalitions to combat climate change, going beyond national policies to collaborate on renewable energy and emissions reductions.
- 🏙️ Cities are declaring themselves 'human rights cities,' aligning local policies with international human rights norms and promoting these values within their communities.
- 🤝 State and local governments are building political connections abroad, influencing international diplomacy and demonstrating their capacity to act independently in global affairs.
- 🌱 The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Global Covenant of Mayors are examples of subnational entities working together to address environmental challenges.
- 📈 State and local governments' actions in areas like trade, climate change, and human rights are indicative of a growing trend towards global governance at the local level.
Q & A
What was the speaker's major and area of interest?
-The speaker was an international studies and political science major with an interest in international politics and governance.
At which nonprofit organization did the speaker intern?
-The speaker interned at a nonprofit called Global Minnesota.
What is the primary goal of Global Minnesota?
-Global Minnesota works to connect the local to the international.
What is the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP)?
-IVLP is a program that brings local leaders from abroad to the U.S. to interact with professionals of similar backgrounds, often described as 'study abroad for adults'.
How long do the trips in the IVLP last and how long do participants stay in each city?
-The trips in the IVLP last for two to three weeks, with participants staying in each city for three or four days.
What is the concept of 'local to local internationalism' mentioned in the script?
-The concept of 'local to local internationalism' refers to the idea that local organizations and governments can play a significant role on the world stage and build personal connections across borders.
How are state and local governments in the U.S. influencing international trade?
-State and local governments are influencing international trade by opening their own foreign trade offices abroad to facilitate trade relationships and attract foreign investment.
What is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and how does it work?
-The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a market-based program that allows provinces and states in Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. to participate in a common carbon market to reduce CO2 emissions.
How are cities managing relationships abroad by building political connections?
-Cities are managing relationships abroad by building political connections through initiatives like the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and the Global Parliament of Mayors, which bring local and urban concerns to international policymaking forums.
What is the significance of cities declaring themselves as 'human rights cities'?
-Cities declaring themselves as 'human rights cities' is significant because it shows political recognition of human rights norms and allows local governments to structure their policies around international human rights agreements.
Why are state and local governments' roles in international politics important?
-State and local governments' roles in international politics are important because they can have a direct impact on citizens' lives and provide opportunities for individuals to influence global issues through local actions and policies.
Outlines
🌐 Local Impact on Global Politics
The speaker, an international studies and political science major, recounts their transformative internship at Global Minnesota, a nonprofit that bridges local and international affairs. They discuss the importance of local organizations, particularly governments, in global politics and highlight the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP), which connects international leaders with U.S. professionals. The program, partially funded by the State Department, emphasizes personal connections and the concept of 'local to local internationalism,' which focuses on the influence of smaller actors in international politics. The speaker argues that local actions often have a more direct impact on individuals and are more amenable to personal influence.
🌳 State and Local Government's Role in Global Issues
The speaker elaborates on how state and local governments are actively shaping global political discourse in areas such as international trade, climate change, diplomacy, and human rights. They mention that fifteen states have opened foreign trade offices to attract investment and aid small businesses in exporting. States are also taking the lead in combating climate change, with some forming international coalitions and initiatives beyond national policies. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy are highlighted as examples of state and city-led efforts to reduce emissions and promote renewable energy. The speaker also discusses the political capital built by these governments through international connections and their commitment to human rights, as evidenced by cities declaring themselves human rights cities and aligning their policies with international norms.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Internship
💡Global Minnesota
💡International Politics
💡Local to Local Internationalism
💡International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP)
💡State Department
💡Climate Change
💡Paris Climate Agreement
💡Global Covenant of Mayors
💡Human Rights Cities
💡Interconnected World
Highlights
Internship at Global Minnesota provided a transformative experience for an international studies and political science major.
Global Minnesota connects the local to the international, focusing on local organizations and state governments' global impact.
The International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) is a State Department-funded initiative that brings international leaders to the U.S. for professional exchange.
IVLP participants include a diverse range of professionals, from artists to activists, fostering personal connections and local internationalism.
Local internationalism emphasizes the political activity and influence of smaller actors, often with more direct impact on individuals.
State and local governments are increasingly involved in international trade, with some opening foreign trade offices to facilitate relationships.
State policies on international trade can have far-reaching effects on national businesses and global economic activity.
Some states are taking the lead in combating climate change by building international coalitions and initiatives.
California's efforts to integrate electric grids with Mexico and join the Under2 Coalition demonstrate state-led climate action.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a North American carbon market that has raised significant funds for renewable energy projects.
Cities are forming global alliances, like the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, to implement climate policies.
State and local governments are building political connections abroad, influencing international diplomacy beyond national channels.
Canadian emissaries' meetings with U.S. state governors and officials highlight the diplomatic efforts of subnational governments.
Cities declaring themselves human rights cities and aligning policies with international human rights norms is a growing trend.
State and local governments have significant power to enact human rights policies, affecting legal rights, policing, and economic equality.
The role of states and cities in international politics is growing, reflecting the interconnectedness of the modern world.
Transcripts
last summer I landed one of those rare
gems an internship that truly changed
the way I think about what I do I'm an
international studies and political
science major and I'm interested in
international politics and governance my
internship was at the nonprofit called
global Minnesota which works to connect
the local to the international and my
experience I mean thinking about the
ways that local organizations
particularly local and state governments
can play a role on the world stage as it
turns out that can do a lot
take a loo Minnesota as an example they
enlist experts to give speeches and lead
panels on certain topics they host forms
between members of the community to
discuss those topics and they do
educational outreach so the kids can
grow up with a sense of the
international and a deeper understanding
of the world outside their communities
the program that I worked on
specifically was called the
international visitors Leadership
Program or IVLP IVLP is partially funded
and administered by the State Department
but it wouldn't be possible without the
day-to-day operations run by local
nonprofits in a way you might think of
IVLP as study abroad for adults u.s.
embassies abroad identify local leaders
in government and the private sector and
they bring them to the u.s. to go to
different cities I mean with
professionals of a similar background
the trips are in the US for two to three
weeks and they're in each city for three
or four days what I found particularly
interesting about IVLP
is that this isn't just for political
leaders and business owners I worked
with artists from Tunisia with minority
rights activists from Eastern Europe
journalists from Bangladesh these are
all different types of people from all
different walks of life participating in
all different kinds of careers IVLP is
about building personal connections and
what is the sort of local to local
internationalism and has this concept of
local to local internationalism that I
became so interested in traditional
conceptions of international politics
tend to look at the big actors we look
at nation-states and multinational
corporations and multinational NGOs but
when we look at the world through this
lens we miss out on a whole other
spectrum of political activity between
smaller actors and it's often the
activity among these smaller actors
which has more direct impact on our
lives in which we as individuals have
more ability to influence IVLP works on
the social and professional side
this there's also a more concrete legal
political and economic side to it as
well and across the u.s. cities and
state governments are realizing this and
there's a growing network of global
governance based on this concept of
local to local internationalism and
today I want to share with you a few
areas in which state and local
governments are transforming the way
that we talk about and we address global
political issues those areas are
international trade combative climate
change diplomacy and international human
rights for state governments their main
focus is international trade they're
currently fifteen states would have
opened their own foreign trade offices
abroad to facilitate trade relationships
these officers serve two purposes first
they attract foreign investment to the
home state by building relationships and
hosting informational forums the second
they help small businesses from their
home state begin and expand exporting by
identifying potential markets abroad
across the states though the program
serve similar ends there's varying
levels of commitment and methodology of
course some states don't participate in
this at all others are small for
instance Texas has so offices are in
Mexico City Minnesota's only offices are
in China but compare that to a state
like Pennsylvania Pennsylvania has open
almost 20 offices worldwide spending all
six inhabited continents and employing
hundreds of people in terms of
methodology New York's global and why
program gives out thirty five million
dollars in grants and loans every year
to help small businesses from New York
begin in international markets other
states take a more hands-on approach
like Kentucky Kentucky doesn't give out
money but they offer direct hands-on
assistance to businesses to help them
grow and these state policies affecting
the national business all over the world
some states realize that they have this
influence and they're leveraging it to
fight climate change you may have heard
about state and local governments
publicly declaring their commitment to
the Paris climate agreement but some
states are going even further and
they're building their own agreements
their own initiatives rather than just
setting policies within their own
jurisdictions they're actually building
international coalition's and reaching
across international borders to involve
every government at every level in the
collective fight against climate change
for example California is currently
working with Mexico to integrate their
electric grids
so the Californians can buy renewable
energy from Mexican windmills California
is also a signatory to the under two
coalition of state local and national
governments other signatories include
Oregon and Washington
citron Province in China Germany and
Santiago Chile the under two coalition
is set up similar to the Paris agreement
signatories develop their own policies
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
hold other states accountable when they
don't meet their goals as to find
another common agreement another
approach is the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative here in North America the
initiative invites all provinces and
states in Mexico Canada and the US to
participate in a common carbon market so
far the market has raised over a billion
dollars and invested that money in
renewable energy projects u.s. states
would participate in the market have
seen an increase in economic activity at
the same time they have seen a decrease
in co2 emissions cities on their own
have developed the global Covenant of
Mayors for climate and energy which
involves over 7,000 cities worldwide
the Covenant helps cities implement
policies on climate change and sets
goals for all the participants similar
to the Global Covenant is global
Parliament on mayors but whereas the
Global Covenant focuses specifically on
climate change the goal of parliament
addresses all issues where cities around
the world face they open up lines of
communication between city governments
and bring local and urban concerns to
international policymaking forums that's
representative of a third way that state
and local governments are influencing
the world stage and that's managing
relationships abroad by building
political connections these governments
are creating political capital which
could be used on a wide range of issues
for another example take a look at
Canada's efforts to connect with every
level of US politics within the first
few months of the Trump administration
Canadian emissaries held meetings with
35 state governors and lieutenant
governor's as well as congressmen and
mayor's to supplement their channels
through the US State Department this
shows the extent to which state and
local governments can conduct an
influence international diplomacy so
he's on their own have also work towards
realizing the world which recognizes
human rights cities all around the world
have declared themselves human rights
cities and vowed to structure their
policies around
international norms and agreements like
the Universal Declaration on Human
Rights a few examples from the US
include Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Seattle
Washington and Jackson Mississippi is
important for two reasons first
political recognition is incredibly
important for moving Human Rights
forward and that's exactly what these
cities are doing by grounding their
policies in international human rights
norms these governments are picking up
the mantle of human rights and leading
their communities forward even when
national governments can't or won't
second it's important because state and
local governments have a lot of power to
make human rights happen policies
related to legal rights policing
economic equality after on it's set at
the federal level they're set at the
state and local level and that means
that the real and immediate decisions
affecting human rights aren't made by
national governments they're made by
state local governments when we think
about international political issues we
should think big we should come up with
grand ideas and hold even grander ideals
we shouldn't make that big thinking they
could focus only on the big actors
states and cities have an incredibly
important role to play in international
politics and that role is only going to
grow as we move forward into a more
interconnected world thank you
[Applause]
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