Transboundary Water and Paradiplomacy in the San Diego-Tijuana Binational Region

The San Diego-Tijuana border region has experienced transformative political, economic, and social integration in the globalization era. These changes have yielded regional institutions, governmental partnerships, and other cross-border apparatuses that capitalize on the significance of the border while acknowledging its unique challenges. Transboundary water management issues across the watershed have similarly provided cooperative arenas for local and regional actors to establish partnerships. Regional actors are incentivized to tackle local issues that are not priorities for central governments, raising key questions about the future of transboundary cooperation. As cities rise in prominence, economic power, and social clout, local actors may be uniquely poised to tackle transnational challenges. In recent years, the viability of "city diplomacy," or paradiplomatic engagement, has been debated. The formal and informal institutional integration that has occurred among public and private entities in the border region lends both credence to, and guidelines for, the viability of such partnerships.