Paradiplomacy in Kenya: A Case of the Devolved System of Governance

Based on the broader concept of decentralization as a strategy for development, this paper examined the incentives of County Governments in advancing their interests in the international arena, a practice known as paradiplomacy. The Fourth Schedule of the COK 2010 provides the distribution of powers and functions between the National Government and the County Governments. The Constitution also emphasizes the importance of each level of government respecting the functional and institutional integrity of government at the other level. In promoting their interests globally, the statements and actions of County Governments have often times challenged the function of foreign policy as a reserve of the National Government. This paper adopts the assumption that the implementation of the devolved system of governance has created avenues for County Governments to play an active role in international affairs, thereby engendering unprecedented political actors in Kenya’s Foreign Policy and international relations. The methodological nature of this study was mixed design. The research relied on primary data and secondary sources of data. The study shed light on the driving factors behind paradiplomacy, highlighting the decisions of county Governments in relation to the practice of paradiplomacy, the implementation of these decisions and the varied results. The research also focused on international best practices in decentralized systems of government that have embraced paradiplomacy. The data collected indicates that the underlying factor for County Governments in the practice of paradiplomacy is the need for development based cooperation. This paper recommends that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Trade (MOFA) and County Governments adopt cooperative governance as envisaged in the Constitution of Kenya to create a coordinated form of paradiplomacy in Kenya.