City Diplomacy in a Fragmented World: Navigating Geopolitical Tensions and the Crisis of Multilateralism

City diplomacy is currently navigating a landscape that is markedly more complex than only a few decades ago. This may be appreciated by analysing multiple dimensions of the international activism of cities and its embeddedness in global governance. First, the ongoing institutionalization of city networks is leading their secretariats to gain centrality vis-à-vis their members, while the private sector is playing a growing role in the funding of these organizations. Second, intermunicipal relations are increasingly affected by the interests of nation-states fuelling geopolitical tensions and the deepening crisis of multilateralism. Third, city governments in the global South are amplifying their international outreach as part of a broader process questioning the Western-dominated world order.

The CIDOB’s Monograph “The evolution of city diplomacy amidst geopolitical tensions, the crisis of multilateralism, and the rising global South”, to be published in December 2025, addresses all the aforementioned issues, advancing the knowledge of the increasingly complex intersection of cities and global governance. In this context, CIDOB organizes an in-person international seminar to present the preliminary results of the research conducted. The closed-door event will aim to boost a fruitful dialogue between representatives from subnational governments and city network secretariats, scholars, experts, and partners. Bridging policy and academia, the seminar will further allow the participants to discuss possible future synergies, particularly with regards to the analysis of how city diplomacy interacts with the evolving landscape of geopolitical tensions, the crisis of multilateralism, and the rising global South.