From Decentralization to Coordination: The Evolution of Russian Paradiplomacy (1991-2021)

The study of paradiplomacy-the international relations of sub-state regions-has devoted its attention to understanding the ways opportunity structures shape regions' external policies. This article contributes to this approach with a systematic exploration of the evolution of paradiplomacy structures in post-Communist Russia. Shifting trends in centralization and geopolitical orientation, as well as patterns of economic growth and stagnation, are the factors that open and close opportunities for regions to act internationally. Accordingly, we propose a periodization of Russian paradiplomacy: 1991-1999, 2000-2013, and 2014 on. We also introduce a classification of the disposition of regions to exploit these opportunities and act abroad.