Cities as a Transnational Institutional Bypass of Nation-States

The paper will explore the significance of the role cities play in transnational institutional bypass
of nation-States. The authors provide examples of cities playing the role of a transnational institutional
bypass of nation-States and indicate the circumstances that may compel cities to act as
such a bypass and fulfil the nation-State functions. The aim of the paper is to show that cities may
successfully bypass nation-States in specific circumstances, including some cases of nation-States
being unwilling to act in order to achieve a greater good that is in the interests of people living in
a given nation-State or, even on a broader scale, in the interests of mankind. To best of the authors’
knowledge, this is the first attempt to introduce the concept of an institutional bypass to cities and
to construe conditions applicable in such a case.