Description
From terrorist acts, to migration flows, to sister cities, local community actors — institutions, individuals, and organizations — assert an increasingly active role in international relations. While the discipline acknowledges the relevance of non-state actors through perspectives related to postinternationalism and world society, the attention paid to local community actors is marginal. The paper argues that the increasing relevance of local community actors in IR is essential for understanding IR phenomena that transcend the traditional levels of analysis. To substantiate this claim, the paper maps IR-relevant actors in Fagaras, a small community in Southern Transylvania, Romania, and based on the empirical results reflects on the implications for the discipline. The paper shows how IR phenomena diversify, encompassing non-traditional IR actors, and highlights the need for more theorizing to understand the transformation of the international.
