The external dimension of sub-national governments: dealing with human rights at the Barcelona and Valencia Euromed civil for a

Article is part of a special issue on Euro-Mediterranean relations after September 11.

Article abstract:

Some sub-national governments of regions and cities have developed their own external relations regardless of central government foreign policies. Mediterranean politics and human rights policy are two fields where we can observe the presence of active sub-national governments, often in alliance or co-operation with civil society actors. Two Spanish regions, Catalonia and Valencia, are among them. However, their patterns of behaviour and the extent of their involvement are quite different. While the Catalan government has developed its own Mediterranean policy, the Valencian one has not. At the same time, compared to the Valencian case, the Catalan administration has allowed less autonomy to the associational actors involved in the Euro-Mediterranean civil society events celebrated in conjunction with the official ministerial conference. Moreover, human rights featured more prominently on the agenda of the Valencia Conference of 2002 than on that of the Barcelona Conference of 1995.