Paper Titles & Abstracts

In Europe and elsewhere metropolitan regions and their political leaders are becoming increasingly assertive and influential often at the expense of regional and national authorities. This development is likely to lead to an acceleration in the already growing disparities in wealth and political influence between metropolitan and more peripheral areas. London is a prime example in the UK, but the trend is equally clear in the Baltic Sea Region. Cities, including Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Malmö, are becoming increasingly assertive towards regional and national authorities. However, they also engage in city diplomacy with dominant cities in other countries, often inducing concern in regional and national authorities alike. The paper explores the use of city diplomacy in the Baltic Sea region with focus on Hamburg, Copenhagen and Malmö, and asks how, and to what extent, such activity impacts on national and regional prosperity and political influence.