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The international system faces two antithetical transnational forces. On the one hand, there is globalization, and on the other a prevalent rise in nationalist and sovereign claims emerging as a backlash to the growing net of transnational relations. Subsequently and following the revolution in individualization since the Cold War, individuals now have more than one social affiliation, and their affiliative choices are taken increasingly autonomously. With their presence in processes of foreign affairs, public demands can no longer be overlooked. The present article discusses the governmental and NGO actors of fundamental freedom across the globe, international advocacy aimed at either reaching global agreements, or at pointing out violations, and public diplomacy as the gray area between human rights and diplomatic practice. The second part of the article has for subject the interplay between foreign policy and human rights, and the improvement of human rights mediation. O. van Zijl

Introduction: Empowering Cities; Simon Curtis/ 1. - 1. The Meaning of Global Cities: Rethinking the Relationship between Cities, States and International Order; Simon Curtis/ 16 . - 2. The Common Sense of Global City 'Actorness' in Contemporary World Politics; Kristin Ljungkvist/ 32 . - 3. A Networked Urban World: Empowering Cities to Tackle Environmental Challenges; Sofie Bouteligier/ 57 . - 4. An Urban Affair: How Mayors Shape Cities for World Politics; Michele Acuto/ 69 . - 5. Globalization, Governance and the Production of Urban Socio-Ecological Space; Nik Janos and Corina Mckendry/ 89 . - 6. The International Activities of Canadian Cities: Are Canadian Cities Challenging the Gate-Keeper Position of the Federal Executive in International Affairs?; Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly/ 107 . - 7. Municipal Bonds and Global Power; Mark Amen/ 132 . - 8. Johannesburg: Financial 'Gateway' to Africa; Elizabeth Cobbett/ 151