City and the World

At first glance a study on cities and foreign policy may seem a bold leap into the future of international relations, but it represents, rather, a giant step into the present--into what is already taking place across this country and around the world. Cities have become actors in international affairs; and American cities have not only been players on the world scene but have been deeply transformed on the process as well. Over the last four years, the Council on Foreign Relations has been studying new actors in international affairs: business, nongovernmental organizations (particularly on such issues as the environment, human rights, and humanitarian relief and aid), and certain regions and localities that now orient their foreign policy or actions somewhat independently from that of their central governments. Of these new global actors, cities have drawn the least attention within policymaking circles and among the public. Although this volume looks at New York City, the United States' largest and most prominent international center, the issues and processes discussed--the economic restructuring of the economy, immigration, and internationalization of crime, the changing demands on, and functions of, social and civic institutions, the technological innovations that are revolutionizing how we live, do business, and form communities--represent fundamental challenges faced by cities and communities across the country; particularly at a time when many of the traditional functions of the central government are being privatized or decentralized. This is a volume of intellectual rigor--briskly written and clear-headed. It provides a model that will be emulated in the analysis ofother global cities.