The Ontario Government as an International Actor

Author: Dyment D.  

Publisher: Routledge Ltd

ISSN: 1359-7566

Source: Regional and Federal Studies, Vol.11, Iss.1, 2001-0, pp. : 55-79

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Abstract

The component governments of federations have experienced an expansion of their international activities. One school of interrogation contends that the determinant of the extent of these activities is the relative symmetry of the component's political culture to that of the central government. In this article it is argued that while the symmetry of component political culture is highly significant a number of explanatory factors have to be considered. These are variables and determinants at the global, federation, and component levels. The theoretical framework of examination is applied to the case study of the Ontario government's international activities in the areas of: economic development and trade; international assistance; transborder relations; and, related elements of policy, coordination, and bureaucratic structure. The thesis that the most useful interpretation of these activities is found in a multi-factor model is confirmed. However, a preeminent position for component political culture and its symmetry with that of the central government is observed, as this sometimes has an overarching influence which can eclipse other factors, and often provides the wider context within which other explanatory variables and determinants operate. Finally, Ontario like most, but not all, of the world's over 300 component governments favours the maintenance of the union of which it is a part. The province is an exemplar of a component government willingly involved in the circumscribed diplomacy implicit within federations. As a result Ontario is representative of the phenomena of international activities by component governments of federations and is a logical candidate for comparison.