My article at the Global Taiwan Institute: Taiwan's paradiplomacy, performing sovereignty
The Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) is a Washington D.C.-based think tank founded in 2016. Dedicated to policy research on Taiwan, it publishes the Global Taiwan Brief, a biweekly publication featuring analysis from international experts on Taiwan’s strategic, diplomatic, and security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. GTI is one of the leading U.S. research centers focused exclusively on Taiwan.
I am publishing an article there on Taiwan’s paradiplomacy — how Taiwan exercises de facto sovereignty despite formal diplomatic recognition limited to just 12 states.
Taiwan’s diplomatic paradox
Taiwan maintains only 12 formal diplomatic relationships, yet conducts approximately $900 billion in annual international trade and operates 111 representative offices across 57 countries. This gap between formal recognition and practical engagement defines Taiwan’s unique approach to international relations.
The pillars of paradiplomacy
The article analyzes three main vectors:
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The TECRO/TECO network: 111 offices functioning as embassies in all but name, handling visas, trade negotiations, scientific cooperation, and cultural programming with a budget of approximately $1.35 billion.
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NGO-based diplomacy: the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the International Cooperation and Development Fund enable international engagement through formally independent organizations.
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Decentralized cooperation: cities, universities, and sports clubs forge direct partnerships. The Prague-Taipei twinning in 2020 demonstrated how subnational actors engage where national governments hesitate.
Performed sovereignty
The article’s central thesis is that Taiwan “performs” sovereignty through institutional practice rather than formal declaration. This decentralized network proves more resilient against Beijing’s pressure: it presents no single chokepoint that China could exploit.