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The paper analyses the nature and features of the Knowledge Regions and their emergence in the international system as strategic players in the process of glocalization, strongly anchored in the creation of dense knowledge networks and the development of an active paradiplomacy which enables the regions to project externally their specific interests and to reinforce their influence in the process of multilevel governance functioning as strategic brokers between the global and the local. In this context the paper discusses the implications of the paradiplomacy of sub-national governments to the foreign policies of central governments and argues that not only paradiplomacy does not present a risk to the coherence of foreign policy but constitutes a major factor for the consolidation of the soft power of states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present some partial results of research about asymmetry in international relations, focusing on the EU's Common Position on Cuba and its consequences for the links between both players. The paper examines the EU's loss of the channels of influence, the persistent fractures and competition between the European supranational strategy and the national diplomacies of the Member States, and the underestimation of the contextual and relational factors that acted in favour of Cuba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In per capita terms, Portugal is one of the most significant European contributors to international peacekeeping operations around the world. It presently ranks 45th in a list of 115 countries contributing to the United Nations (UN) peace operations and 7th in the European Union (EU). The multiplicity of forces used, as well as the diversity of the locations of deployment, reflect the ambition and effort made by the Portuguese governments in the last 20 years. Portuguese participation in peacekeeping missions has been seen as a vehicle for strengthening Portugal's position in the world: the involvement under the flag of international organisations raises the profile of Portuguese foreign policy and diplomacy. In this paper, we argue that Portuguese involvement in peace missions reflects Portugal's pursuit of its national interest and foreign policy. The aim is to bolster Portugal's capacity to influence the decision-making process in major international fora, such as the UN, NATO and the EU. The goal established since the late 1980s aims to strengthen the visibility and specific weight of Portugal in the multilateral framework. The country's contribution to peacekeeping operations has increased the bargaining power of Portugal, which has become an active partner with a more audible voice within those organisations. That voice led to gaining a better position when it came to negotiating major international posts and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]