The College of Political Science at the University of Baghdad discussed a master’s thesis titled “The External Powers of Regions in Federal Systems with a Paradiplomacy Approach: A Case Study of the Kurdistan Region” by the student Haider Sabah Kazem. The thesis explained that federalism is one of the systems used in many countries as an alternative to centralized and authoritarian systems in the pursuit of greater democracy. Over time, this system has evolved and taken on various forms based on the circumstances and nature of each country. It has different types, such as asymmetrical federalism, homogenous federalism, progressive federalism, and more. Federal systems distribute authority and powers among multiple government levels based on a federal constitution, primarily relying on decentralization in dividing powers. This includes political decentralization and administrative decentralization. Some states are managed through administrative decentralization, while regions or states with ethnic, religious, or linguistic minorities are managed through political decentralization due to their unique status, as is the case with Catalonia in Spain, Quebec in Canada, and the Kurdistan Region. However, with developments in various fields, including politics, and in the era of globalization, the term “paradiplomacy” has emerged on the international stage. It falls within the field of comparative political analysis of federal states and the evolving theories of federalism. This term has represented a turning point in academic literature related to the participation of subnational governments in international affairs, making them important players in the international political arena. The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has been highlighted as one of these models operating with a paradiplomacy approach, possessing internal and external institutions that have helped it develop its foreign policies, while adhering to constitutional rules within the federal state of Iraq. At the end of the discussion, the researcher was awarded a master’s degree with a “very good” rating, wishing all our dear students success in their academic and professional lives .
