Municipal International Relations: The South African Case of Metropolitan eThekwini.

Ruffin, Fayth A.

This article theoretically lies at the intersection of public governance and international relations. It contributes to literature on the rise of local government as an actor in global affairs, with specific reference to cooperation between cities of the global South. This article first situates the international relations of local government in the context of globalisation and urbanisation, before examining contemporary change in municipal internationalism and the constitutional, legislative and policy framework for municipal international relations in South Africa. Finally, the article considers metropolitan eThekwini as an emerging actor in global affairs based upon interviews of municipal managers, South African Local Government Association managers and administrators of the South African Department of International Relations and Co-operative Governance; the results of these interviews are factored into a review and analysis of documentary evidence. The article contends that cross-border, inter-urban cooperation and learning exchange is the governance focus of some municipalities - not solely interurban competition in a global economy as neoliberal discourse would have it. The urban landscape may not be just a geo-political, socioeconomic locale for capitalist accumulation. Rather, metropolitan municipalities may be de-centralised places of coordination and collaboration for international relations, accentuating municipalities as local development states where public values, and not just factual judgements, figure into good governance decision-making. Metropolitan eThekwini is a case in point.

SOUTH Africa; DURBAN (South Africa); AFRICA; INTERNATIONAL relations; PUBLIC administration; LOCAL government

Loyola Journal of Social Sciences, 2013, Vol 27, Issue 1, p119

0971-4960

Academic Journal