Protodiplomacy: sub-state diplomacy and wannabe states

After a review of the key similarities and differences between sub-state and small state diplomacy, this chapter seeks to shed some light on the conditions that transform the diplomacy of sub-state entities into protodiplomacy. It also asks why most such initiatives end in failure, whereby the sub-state entity does not achieve its goal of becoming a wannabe state, or even suffers rejection. To this end, the chapter presents three cases: one of success (Slovenia in the 1990s); one of failure (Catalonia, especially since 2017); and one ‘in between’ (Kurdistan, also mainly since 2017). In doing so, another aspect of the politics of small states is highlighted: how wannabe states struggle, persist, succeed or fail in the international pecking order of state entities.