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Abstract:
Parapublic underpinnings of international relations are cross-border interactions that belong neither to the public world of states nor to the private world of societies. They underpin relations among specific states and construct social purpose in the international realm. Focusing on Franco-German parapublic underpinnings reveals a particular and neglected kind of `Europeanization'. Such parapublic activity includes massive state-financed youth exchanges, some two thousand municipal partnerships, and a host of institutes and associations. In their entirety, these parapublic interactions have developed into structural components of the European polity. Rather than directly affecting domestic political affairs, this kind of Europeanization connects French and Germans in a certain way. It makes Europeans more European, but without making them less national. This article contributes a concept to properly capture a distinct and substantial type of international activity and to identify its characteristic effects and limitations.
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