NOTE: Course information changes frequently, including Methods of Instruction. Please revisit these pages periodically for the most recent and up-to-date course information.

Prerequisites: None.

Eligibility: This course is open to undergraduates, graduate students, and visiting students.

Based on a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, the city diplomacy course is designed to offer a general introduction to the international role of cities.

With its century-old history, city diplomacy represents a relatively recent dynamics in international relations. City diplomacy is generally considered to start in 1913 with the creation, at the Universal Exposition in the Belgian city of Ghent, of the first global city network, the Union Internationale des Villes.

Since its beginning, city diplomacy emerged as a field where cities’ values and idealism are implemented through a pragmatic and cooperative approach that progressively expanded its scope. The rise of such practice was driven by the desire to foster reconciliation among former enemies of the Second World War through direct interaction between residents in the framework of twinning agreements. A few years later, city diplomacy accompanied the process of decolonization by creating a solid bond of friendship between cities in former colonizing and colonized countries. In the 90s, city diplomacy widened its scope to include enhancing the city’s positioning in the global economy. Today, city diplomacy is best known for its impact in addressing the main transnational challenges (including climate change, migration, violent extremism, and urbanization) through a methodology featuring horizontal partnerships with cities from all over the world and a vertical, participatory approach engaging and empowering residents and local stakeholders.

Through an innovative approach cutting cuts across the boundaries of traditional disciplines (international relations, urban sociology, area studies, history, geography),  the course will combine the emerging scholarly literature with a comparative accent linked to the analysis of primary sources from cities and international actors from all regions of the world. As a result, students will learn to connect global and regional macro-dynamics with micro-transformations at the local level, while gaining an in-depth understanding of city diplomacy's core features, management, tangible impact, and evolution.

To enroll in this course, you must apply to the Columbia Summer in Paris Program through the Center for