Sub-National Diplomacy in Cincinnati, Is It Important Globally?
Sub-national diplomacy is not something that many of us know anything about. What does it actually mean?
Sub-national diplomacy is the act of engaging state and local actors in foreign policy. It is essential if we are to solve the increasingly complex national security challenges of the 21st century.
During the week of July 19-24th, The World Affairs Council hosted a regional program called US-European Security Challenges through the U.S. State Department’s premiere IVLP exchange program. Delegates from Croatia, the European Union, Malta, Norway, Romania, Spain, and Sweden came to Cincinnati expose participants to the U.S. security and defense policy-making process and perspectives on global issues; and examine specific security issues, such as regional conflicts, weapons proliferation, energy security, homeland security, international terrorism, and the use of preventative diplomacy to address these challenges.
Whoa!
Let’s take a step-back to understand what this broad, and scary-sounding, topic really looks like for the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region.
Over the course of two days, these delegates met with several different organizations including the Cincinnati Police Department, the Citizens Complaint Authority, the Greater Cincinnati Fusion Center, and the Ohio Justice and Policy Center.
Most of these organizations work together to create a cohesive plan to create a sub-national security plan throughout the local region. The Cincinnati Police Department is truly the place where the meeting of the minds comes together for this security plan.
The delegates had the chance to sit down with Lt. Ryan and Specialist Bley to discuss the challenges that the Cincinnati Police Department faces. Lt. Ryan and Specialist Bley explained that the Police Department aims for community-driven approaches. The police chiefs are committed to approaching the community with ideas and being transparent about what is happening within the Police Department.They understand that things will spiral without the community’s support. Therefore, the Cincinnati Police Department is dedicated to working closely with the Citizen’s Complaint Authority to combat complaints against any officers.
The Citizen’s Complaint Authority Director, Gabriel Davis, delved more into the collaborations with the Cincinnati Police Department. He explained the investigative model the Cincinnati Citizen’s Complaint Authority uses to explore any allegations or complaints made about police. Delegates had the opportunity to learn about the policy recommendations the Citizen’s Complaint Authority makes to the Mayor, Cincinnati Police Department, and the Cincinnati City Manager to combat any issues which would negatively affect the community.
Later, members of the Fusion Center and the Department of Homeland Security also met with delegates to discuss the role and responsibilities of the Fusion Center to communicate and cooperate with different agencies within the city to prevent and reduce crime. The Fusion Center explained that their facility is unique in that it is responsible for 8 counties in Ohio, 3 counties in Kentucky, and 1 county in Indiana. While their main role is to direct tips to the correct authorities, they also do assessments at schools, and other areas of critical infrastructure, such as museums, hospitals, banks, energy sectors, and big events to see where they could improve safety. Other actors, such as the Police Chief, Mayor, and City Manager are consulted during large events. These events can include, but are not limited to, the Taylor Swift concert, Bengals games, Reds games, and other large gatherings.
The delegates discussed how it is useful to learn about the cooperation between the different security sectors locally and nationally. One of their comments was that in a country like Norway, the largest issue they face is communication between the Northern and Southern halves of the country. The issues faced in these different regions varied vastly. Therefore, it was helpful to learn about the different modes of information sharing between the different organizations.
So is sub-national diplomacy in Cincinnati important globally? The short answer is yes.
The U.S.-European Security Challenges IVLP explored the role of Cincinnati’s approach to crime and information sharing as a leader within the United States. These delegates were excited and enthusiastic to take what they had learned in Cincinnati back to their home countries to begin implementing our strategies there.
