ABSTRACT
US states and their local governments possess limited international competence derived from constitutional authority, political freedom and governmental capacity. Although states have always played some roles in US foreign policymaking and international affairs, their current, more active roles began to emerge during the late 1950s. As such, states, and often local governments, can be said to play a number of roles in foreign affairs, namely they serve as partners in foreign policy development; pressure points in foreign policymaking; self-governing political communities; promoters of area interests; proxies for the nation; parties to agreements with foreign governments; public education and opinion forums; problem solvers on the world scene; patrons of democracy; and serving as 213practitioners of goodwill. For the most part, state and local governments do not unduly intrude upon or oppose the federal government's foreign-affairs prerogatives, and the federal government's responses to state and local international affairs activities have been tolerant, supportive and often cooperative. To date, however, state and local governments have not plunged deeply into the international arena. Their international activities still constitute small portions of their budgets and personnel.
