Paris Grants the Dalai Lama Honorary Citizenship and the Sparks Fly

Story here and here. On the one hand, it nicely demonstrates of the dangers of local foreign policy. Local pols decide to do some showboating, out of their depth and unlikely to shoulder the consequnces, and next thing you know, you’re looking at World War III.

On the other hand, this may just be a hangover from the old world. It’s only honorary citizenship, after all — what’s the big deal? And it’s local citizenship, not national. The French government has carefully distanced itself from the Paris’ action. Why should China hold France responsible? It’s surely sophisticated enough to understand domestic democratic politics to see that this is hardly a statement of national foreign policy. If China has a problem with the city council policy, why not take it up directly with the mayor?

In most contexts, dealing with more up-to-date governments than China, there’s no problem with this kind of activity. European cities have extended honorary citizenship to death-row inmates in the United States, including Mumia Abu-Jamal and Joseph O’Dell, and it hasn’t exactly brought down U.S.-European relations or sparked rioting in front of Sofitels. Democracies can take this kind of disaggregated interaction. Perhaps others can’t, at least not yet.