Diplomacy

Content
 Historical background
 Definition of diplomacy
 Objectives of diplomacy
 Tools of diplomacy
 Traditional vs. Modern diplomacy
 Types of diplomacy
 Functions of diplomacy
 Instruments of diplomacy
 Importance of diplomacy
 Historical perspective
 The ability to practice diplomacy is one of the defining
elements of a state, and diplomacy has been practiced
since the first city states were formed millennia ago
(around 5th BC).
 For the majority of human history diplomats were sent
only for specific negotiations, and would return
immediately after their mission concluded. Diplomats
were usually relatives of the ruling family or of very
high rank in order to give them legitimacy when they
sought to negotiate with the other state
 Conti...
 During the Middle Ages (6th to 18th century), the scope of
diplomacy did not grow much and diplomats were mostly
confined to maintaining archives rather than negotiating them.
 In the late middle ages, in Genoa, the Duke of Milan
established the first foreign mission. But this was still
diplomacy of the court rather than that of the people. After the
American and French revolutions, diplomacy became more
democratic and less aristocratic. The Congress of Vienna
(1815) laid down procedures for diplomatic immunities and
defined diplomatic hierarchy
 Definitions
 “Diplomacy is the process of representation and
negotiation by which states customarily deal with
one another in times of peace.” —Padelford and
Lincoln
 “Diplomacy is the promotion of the national
interest by peaceful means.”—Hans J.
Morgenthau

 “Diplomacy is “the art of forwarding one’s

interests in relation to other countries.” —K.M.
Panikar
 Objectives of diplomacy
 Political Objectives of Diplomacy:

Diplomacy always works to secure the goals of national interest as defined by the foreign
policy. It always works for increasing the influence of the state over other states. It uses
persuasion, promises of rewards and other such means for this purpose. Through rational
negotiations, it seeks to justify the objectives of the foreign policy of the nation. It seeks to
promote friendship and cooperation with other nations.

 Non-political Objectives of Diplomacy:

The interdependence among nations is the most important and valuable fact of international
living. Each nation depends upon others for economic and industrial links and trade.
Diplomacy always seeks to promote the economic, commercial and cultural links of the nation
with other nations. Diplomacy depends upon peaceful means, persuasive methods for
promoting the interests of the nation and this is indeed an important non-political objective of
Diplomacy.
 Tools of diplomacy
 Political
This is the most important tool. The core of the political tool is interaction
of the Embassy with the host government to maintain bilateral relations
between the two countries and interaction between political leadership of
the two countries. One good way of using this tool is to have Heads of
State/Government level visits. Meetings, negotiations, telephonic calls
and written communications are other ways to use this tool.
 Security
Cooperation in areas such as intelligence, defence, counter-terrorism,
nuclear issues, space and high-tech under this category. If two countries
use the security tool of diplomacy in their relationship, it shows that they
have a high level of confidence in each other.
 Conti
 Commercial
This includes trade, investment and economic relations between
countries. One large Asian country has been able to use this tool of
diplomacy effectively in developing countries to enhance its footprint
in these countries.
 Cultural
This includes literature, education and public diplomacy under this
category. Relationship between countries is determined by the extent
to which the above tools of diplomacy are involved. These tools can
further enhance bilateral relationship, coordinate positions at
international forums and influence the other country.
 Traditional vs. modern diplomacy
Modern Diplomacy and Distinction with Old Diplomacy:
New Diplomacy has the following salient features which have been totally different from the features of
Old Diplomacy.
New Diplomacy is Global, traditional Diplomacy was mainly European:
The modern Diplomacy is truly global in nature and scope. The rise of Asia, Africa and Latin
America and the emergence of a large number of sovereign independent states changed the
character of post-war international relations. From mostly European relations these came to be
truly international relations involving all the sovereign states. Consequently, diplomacy had to
abandon its European character and to become truly global in nature and approach. While
traditional diplomacy was confined to Europe
Modern Diplomacy is mostly Multilateral, whereas traditional Diplomacy was mostly Bilateral:
Multilateral negotiations in international conferences, institutionalized diplomacy at the United
Nations and the emergence of direct personal contacts among the statesmen and leaders of
various states, have all combined to give a new look and content to New Diplomacy.
Traditional Diplomacy was mostly bilateral and limited; the New Diplomacy is mostly multilateral
and global.
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Modern Diplomacy is less formal than traditional Diplomacy:
Modern Diplomacy is not as much formal and rigid in respect of rules or procedures
as was the case with the traditional Diplomacy. Presently, there exist quite informal
and direct contacts among the leaders and diplomats of various states.
In traditional Diplomacy, the conduct of foreign relations was considered to be the
rights of the kings or rulers and their trusted ambassadors. The diplomats used to
be selected by the monarchs and were responsible to their ‘lords’.
Modern Diplomacy is mostly open and Old Diplomacy was mostly secret:
In modern Diplomacy the negotiations are open and the results are, invariably
always, made public soon after the reaching of agreements or treaties or alliances
or settlements. Diplomatic negotiations are given full coverage over the Radio,
Press, Television and other means of mass-media. Traditional Diplomacy favored
secrecy as its governing principle.
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Democratic Nature of modern Diplomacy versus Aristocratic nature of traditional Diplomacy:
The modern Diplomacy is democratic, whereas traditional Diplomacy was aristocratic in nature.
However, at present the increased influence of public opinion, political parties, pressure groups, world public
opinion, the rise of a more democratic and less aristocratic class of civil servants, have all given a new
dimension and look to diplomacy. Modern ambassadors and consoler’s are democratic in their outlook towards
diplomacy. A degree of informality has come to characterize their functioning in international relations.

Modern Diplomacy depends more on Propaganda than traditional Diplomacy:

The use of propaganda/publicity as an important instrument of political warfare in international relations is
accepted and used by modern Diplomacy as a means for securing the goals of national interest that it
represents. Traditional Diplomacy was mostly secret and hence avoided propaganda. It concentrated upon legal
and formal communications as the means for conveying its wishes, desires and objectives.
 Types of diplomacy
 Totalitarian diplomacy
The rise of totalitarian states like Germany, Italy, The Soviet
Union after the First World War a new but disturbing kind of
diplomacy came-up. Use of modern techniques of military,
political and psychological power to expand their spheres of
influence, gain and control over other states and challenges
other regimes and further their aggressive policy of
expansion.
 Types of diplomacy
Bilateral diplomacy
It is consists of the political, economic, or cultural relations between two
sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which
refers to the conduct of diplomacy by a single state or multiple states,
respectively. When states recognize one another as sovereign states and
agree to develop diplomatic relations, they exchange diplomatic agents
such as ambassadors to facilitate dialogues and cooperation.
For example
Pakistan and China have been enjoying close, amiable and ever-growing
diplomatic, economic, trade and security relations since the independence of
Pakistan. After partition of the sub-continent both China and Pakistan have
been working closely with each other in many areas of mutual interests.
 Types of diplomacy
Multilateral diplomacy
Multilateral diplomacy is generally governed by a set of pre-
defined rules, equally applicable to all the participants, without
showing favoritism or shift of power towards anyone particular.
For example UN which is governed by charter of the United
Nations.
Examples of multilateral diplomacy
Multilateral diplomacy can involve as many countries as the entire
membership of the UN and most often takes place either in the
context of a global coordinating body like the UN, WTO the context
of a regional coordinating body like the EU, ASEAN etc.
 Functions of diplomacy
Ceremonial/Symbolic Functions:
The diplomats of a nation are the symbolic
representatives of the state and they
represent their state and government in all
official ceremonies and functions as well as
in non-official, social and cultural functions
held in the place of their postings.
 Representation:
• A diplomat formally represents his
country in a foreign state. He is the
normal agent of communication between
his home office and that of the state to
which he is accredited. His
representation is legal and political. He
can vote in the name of his government.
Of course, in doing so he is totally bound
by the directions of his home office and
the foreign Policy of the nation.
 Negotiations:
• To conduct negotiations with other states is a
fundamental function of diplomacy.
• They are the channels of communication which
handle the transmission of messages between the
foreign ministries of the parent state and the host
state.
• Along with the nature of the message, the manner
and style of delivering the message greatly influences
the course of negotiations. It is mainly through
negotiations that a diplomat seeks to secure
agreements and compromises over various
conflictual issues and problems among states.
•
 Reporting:
Reporting involves the observation of the political, economic, military and
social conditions of the host country and the accurate transmission of the
findings of the diplomat to his home country. The political reporting involves a
report about the assessment of the roles of various political parties in the
politics of the host country. It seeks to assess the friendliness or hostility of the
various political groupings towards the home state, and the power potential of
each party or organization.
Economic reporting involves sending of reports to the home office containing
general information about the economic health and trade potential of the host
country. Military reporting involves an assessment of the military might,
intentions and capabilities, and the strategic importance of the host country.
 Protection of Interests:
Diplomacy is always at work for
protecting and promoting the interests
of the nation and its people living
abroad. Protection of interests is the
“bedrock of the practice of
diplomacy.”
 DIPLOMATIC PERSONNEL
 Diplomatic personnel undergo rigorous selection and training..
 Applicants for diplomatic positions are usually university graduates. They face
difficult oral and written examinations that test the applicant’s skills in writing,
problem solving, and summarizing. The applicant’s persuasiveness, intelligence,
initiative, and stability are also tested.
 All countries require their diplomats to have knowledge of foreign languages.
Which language a diplomat is required to know will depend on the country to
which he or she is assigned, but the most important languages are English,
French, and Spanish. Also important are Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese,
Portuguese, and Russian. Most countries also stress knowledge of economics,
geography, international politics, and law.
 Instruments of diplomacy
TREATIES
The most important type of instrument is a
treaty—a written, binding contract between
countries. Treaties are registered at the UN and
may be bilateral (involving two countries) or
multilateral (involving three or more countries).
 CONVENTIONS
A convention is a multilateral instrument that creates
international laws or regulates the behavior of
countries. The UN and its agencies negotiate many
conventions, as does the Council of Europe.
 AGREEMENTS
 Agreements are usually bilateral, not
multilateral. Less formal and permanent than
treaties, they deal with narrow, often technical
topics. They are negotiated between
governments or government departments,
though sometimes nongovernmental entities are
involved. In the United States, presidents use
executive agreements to preserve secrecy and
to avoid the ratification process.
 Importance of diplomacy
 Diplomacy is a science of communication, dealing and
negotiations between two nations through their bureaucratic
channel.
 It is an established method of influencing the decisions and
behavior of foreign governments and people through dialogue,
negotiations and other measures short of war or violence.
 In diplomacy there is always a path to find solution of
problems above all difficulties. It is the best known method to
solve the disputes between two territories.
 Diplomacy even helps to cope with hardship of poverty and
developmental interruptions. Today world, the diplomacy plays the
most important role that makes our planet peaceful and better.