Suart MacDonald used the colloquium to take stock of his project on the topic of ‘Sub-national Soft Power: Policy, Strategy, and Measurement.’ His starting point was the question of whether the soft power analysis model (Assets–Infrastructure–Outcomes, AIO) he had developed in another context for the national level could also be applied to regions and cities. He began by stating that it was not very productive to spend a long time pondering how soft power could be defined in theoretical terms, but that soft power was something that should be actively pursued and practised.

He looked back on the workshops at the Academy, in Düsseldorf and in Brussels. Cities and regions could not be viewed in isolation, but were part of a multi-level governance structure between local, national and international levels. He still considers it extremely difficult to measure the impact of soft power at regional or city level because data is lacking and the causal relationships are very complex. Although regions are increasingly recognised as political actors, practical cooperation in European foreign and cultural policy still does not run smoothly.

He also sees a gap between practice and research: in his view, academic models and practical policy needs often do not fit well together. Stuart went on to explain that, in his view, regions do not engage in classic ‘soft power’ but rather in a different form of international cooperation (network-oriented, topic-specific). The problem of evidence and impact in subnational diplomacy is not only methodological but also political, because regions often have to justify their role first. This was followed by an open discussion with the fellows about the international role of regions and cities.