Despite intensive scholarly research on recentralization trends, the dynamics of subnational democratic resistance to supremacy at the national level (Swianiewcz 2019; Ladner, Keuffer, and Bastianen 2025) have been largely overlooked, creating fertile ground for scholarly contributions. The aim of this study is to uncover how metropolitan municipalities in Poland (Warsaw), Czechia (Prague), Slovakia (Bratislava), and Hungary (Budapest) become political actors of recentralization resistance within goal-oriented transnational activism (cf. Aksztejn et al., 2025; Szymański, 2025). The conceptual framework for grounding the strategies, patterns, and contexts of subnational resistance in metropolitan cities is based on activities conducted as a part of bottom-up transnational initiatives and projects. Methodologically, this study will employ a comparative case study design with qualitative research methods. Using thematic content analysis, we will systematically analyze literature sources, reports and strategies regarding municipal activities, and media statements from relevant city authorities. We hypothesize that despite growing recentralization trends fueled by redemocratization in these countries, metropolitan cities' governments are wisely employing transnational strategies as forms of subnational resistance. It is crucial to determine the forms of transnational activity (individual versus networked), the reasons for their selection (organizational, financial, and ideological ones), and the tangible results of metropolitan cities' engagement abroad (particular positions, decisions, policies, etc.).
