This study evaluates Hong Kong's soft power through investigating the relations between the city's paradiplomatic ambits and performance and critically reflects on how the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to further develop its presence in international stage and its identity as an active non-sovereign international actor. This study also enriches the literature of paradiplomacy and soft power of non-sovereign actors since the soft power analysis is still limited to state-centric research. This research also explores new angles to deal with Hong Kong-China relations by highlighting how the paradiplomacy and the soft power of Hong Kong can create space and flexibility for the city's international engagement. A theoretical framework which incorporates new institutionalism and normative theory to explain the interplay of paradiplomacy and soft power is proposed and tested. This study adopts multi-pronged method to investigate Hong Kong's soft power and its leaders' capabilities in upholding the city's international profile under "One Country, Two Systems". Through studying the international indexes, surveys of public opinion, official documents like Hong Kong Policy Addresses and conducting in-depth interviews, this study delineates and evaluates the soft power capacities within paradiplomatic ambits of the city. The key findings of the research indicate the HKSAR government has had a very restrictive understanding of the soft power for the city. In particular, the study proves that both institutions and values of Hong Kong are crucial for boosting the city's soft power. In contrast to the conventional system, the institutions of the HKSAR have limited the fostering of values of Hong Kong, but also the development of the city's soft power. This study shows that the tensions between the government and civil society have weakened some of the potential soft power resources. Moreover, the prevailing policy focus on strengthening the city's financial and economic status with respect to China's rise to power has not done justice to other stakeholders such as the film industry and the civil society who could have made considerable impacts on enriching and enhancing Hong Kong's global attractiveness. The paradiplomatic power of the HKSAR government has not been persistently pursued in the policy implementations. As the HKSAR government claimed it is committed to upholding the city's international profile and to promote its soft power globally, this study intends to make an original contribution to our understanding of the relations of the city's soft power, paradiplomacy and policy implementations.

Is the concept of open society still relevant in the 21st century? Do the current social, moral, and political realities call for a drastic revision of this concept? Here fifteen essays address real-world contemporary challenges to open society from a variety of perspectives. What unites the individual authors and chapters is an interest in open society’s continuing usefulness and relevance to address current problems. And what distinguishes them is a rich variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds, and a wide range of academic disciplines and traditions. While focusing on probing the contemporary relevance of the concept, several chapters approach it historically. The book features a comprehensive introduction to the history and current ‘uses’ of the theory of open society. The authors link the concept to contemporary themes including education, Artificial Intelligence, cognitive science, African cosmology, colonialism, and feminism. The diversity of viewpoints in the analysis reflects a commitment to plurality that is at the heart of this book and of the idea of open society itself.

This is a comparative study of the international role and activities of component units of major liberal democratic federal States. The essays examine the way federal units have operated in international affairs and suggest some reasons for the proliferation of this para-diplomatic activity.

Russian public diplomacy attracts growing attention in the current global climate of tension and competition. However, it is often not understood or is misunderstood. Although some articles and book chapters exist, there are almost no books on Russian public diplomacy neither in Russian, nor in English. This edited collection is an in-depth and broad analysis of Russian public diplomacy in its conceptual understanding and its pragmatic aims and practice. Various aspects of Russian public diplomacy – from cultural to business practices – will interest professors, students and practitioners from various countries. Written by a diverse collection of the most prominent and capable scholars, from academia to international organizations, with a wealth of knowledge and objective experience, this book covers the vital topics and thoroughly analyzes the best practices and mistakes within the broad understanding of public diplomacy conducted by the Russian Federation.

The Handbook of Scottish Politics provides a detailed overview of politics in Scotland, looking at areas such as elections and electoral behaviour, public policy, political parties, and Scotland's relationship with the EU and the wider world. The contributors to this volume are some of the leading experts on politics in Scotland.

In Once A Hero, his latest collection of essays, Lam describes the decline of Hong Kong cinema since 1997 and gives an eyewitness account of its attempt to reinvent itself.

America's longest wars have been 'small wars'. This book explains how power differences shape - but don't determine - international relationships.

Leading Cities is a global review of the state of city leadership and urban governance today. Drawing on research into 202 cities in 100 countries, the book provides a broad, international evidence base grounded in the experiences of all types of cities. It offers a scholarly but also practical assessment of how cities are led, what challenges their leaders face, and the ways in which this leadership is increasingly connected to global affairs. Arguing that effective leadership is not just something created by an individual, Elizabeth Rapoport, Michele Acuto and Leonora Grcheva focus on three elements of city leadership: leaders, the structures and institutions that underpin them, and the tools used to drive change. Each of these elements are examined in turn, as are the major urban policy issues that leaders confront today on the ground. The book also takes a deep dive into one particular example of tool or instrument of city leadership – the strategic urban plan. Leading Cities provides a much-needed overview and introduction to the theory and practice of city leadership, and a starting point for future research on, and evaluation of, city leadership and its practice around the world.

Including chapters from some of the leading experts in the field this Handbook provides a full overview of the nature and challenges of modern diplomacy and includes a tour d'horizon of the key ways in which the theory and practice of modern diplomacy are evolving in the 21st Century.