The role of the international relations city board of São Paulo in the construction of the global cities network: the creation of the united cities and local governments (UCLG)

• Grant number: 15/23520-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2016
• End date: December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science
• Principal Investigator: Regina Claudia Laisner
• Grantee: Priscila Freires Rosso
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Many changes happened in the last decades. On one hand, the international scene has undergone a hierarchical reconfiguration due to the end of the Cold War. On the other hand, the intensification of globalization process still keeps the state as major player, but opens space for new actors, such as cities. In this sense, the inclusion of cities in the international environment as actors of international relations is a phenomenon that is gaining more strength in Brazil and worldwide, by advancing in several fronts, as shows the creation of International Relations City Boards, a way to institutionalize this process and improve their insertion. Some of these institutions have greater relevance due to the fact that they turned on models over time, as it is the case of the International Relations City Board (IRCBs) of São Paulo, which is the object of this study. Among other aspects, IRCB of São Paulo has become known for its participation in the creation of new agencies for international coordination of municipalities, as was the case of UCLG - United Cities and Local Governments. This project is related to this aspect and intends to conduct a case study on the UCLG to understand what was the role that IRCB of São Paulo played on its establishment and if this has been related to the emergence of features of a municipal global action epistemic community. Therefore, it will be based on the perspective of epistemic communities as they were defined by Haas (1992) and on Constructivism too. It is also necessary to reconstruct the history of the IRCB and its structure of operation from the literature review, document analysis and interviews with IRCBs employees who worked there on the period encompassing the management of Mayor Marta Suplicy, which is also the period covered by this project.