Diplomacy can be regarded as an application of intelligence and tact to the conduct of official relations between the governments of independent States.Diplomacy is a complex and often challenging practice of fostering relationships around the world in order to resolve issues and advance interests.The purpose of diplomacy is to strengthen the State and to serve in its relations with others. One of the functions of diplomacy is to minimize frictions and conflicts with other states through negotiations.
Difference between Diplomacy and Foreign policy
The terms diplomacy and foreign policy are often used interchangeably, diplomacy is an instrument of foreign policy. Foreign policy is orientated towards settling goals, occasionally with mention to the strategies and tactics to be used. Diplomacy is used to its accomplishment.
Types of Diplomacy
- Appeasement
Appeasement is "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and compromise, thereby avoiding the resort to an armed conflict which would be expensive, bloody, and possibly dangerous."
- Ping Pong Diplomacy
Ping pong diplomacy refers to the exchange of ping pong players between the United States and People's Republic of China (PRC) in the 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.–China relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon.
- Panda Diplomacy
- Gunboat Diplomacy
Gunboat diplomacy is the use of military troops to maintain hegemony over a sphere of influence, usually associated with the age of imperialism and colonialism.
- Dollar diplomacy
Dollar diplomacy is a form of diplomacy that involves investing in foreign nations to stabilize them. The term is often used specifically to represent efforts conducted in self interest by the United States.dollar diplomacy in this sense of the word is diplomacy that will benefit the interests of the United States. This approach to diplomacy has been practiced for a very long time by a number of nations, not just the United States.
- Shuttle Diplomacy
Use of a neutral third party to negotiate peace between two groups of people that refuse to directly talk with each other.Diplomatic negotiations conducted by an official intermediary who travels frequently between the nations involved.
- Cultural Diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy is the interchange of ideas and other cultural features between nations or other distinct groups as a means of diplomacy between the groups.
- Citizen Diplomacy
Citizen diplomacy is the concept that, in a vibrant democracy, the individual citizen has the right,even the responsibility to help shape foreign relations.In practical terms, citizen diplomats are professionals, families, students, interns, and travelers who make an impact by reaching out to individuals from other countries to build bridges of mutual understanding.
- Public Diplomacy
Standard diplomacy might be described as the ways in which government leaders communicate with each other at the highest levels, the elite diplomacy we are all familiar with. Public diplomacy, by contrast focuses on the ways in which a country (or multi-lateral organization such as the United Nations) communicates with citizens in other societies.Public diplomacy is regarded as the framework of activities by which a government seeks to influence public attitudes in a manner that they become supportive of its foreign policy and national interests. It differs from traditional diplomacy in that public diplomacy goes beyond governments and interfaces primarily with non-governmental individuals and organizations. Furthermore, public diplomacy activities often present many differing views as represented by private individuals and organizations in addition to official Government views and positions. A key facet of Public diplomacy is that it goes beyond unidirectional communication; it is also about listening to a range of actors. Successful public diplomacy involves an active engagement with the public in a manner that builds, over a period of time, a relationship of trust and credibility. It requires systems that acknowledge the importance of an increasingly interconnected world where citizens expect responsiveness to their concerns on foreign policy (and other issues).
Film, television, music, sports, video games and other social/cultural activities are seen by public diplomacy advocates as enormously important avenues for otherwise diverse citizens to understand each other and integral to the international cultural understanding, which they state is a key goal of modern public diplomacy strategy. It involves not only shaping the message(s) that a country wishes to present abroad, but also analyzing and understanding the ways that the message is interpreted by diverse societies and developing the tools of listening and conversation as well as the tools of persuasion.
Film, television, music, sports, video games and other social/cultural activities are seen by public diplomacy advocates as enormously important avenues for otherwise diverse citizens to understand each other and integral to the international cultural understanding, which they state is a key goal of modern public diplomacy strategy. It involves not only shaping the message(s) that a country wishes to present abroad, but also analyzing and understanding the ways that the message is interpreted by diverse societies and developing the tools of listening and conversation as well as the tools of persuasion.
- Economic diplomacy
Economic diplomacy is concerned with economic policy issues. Economic diplomats also monitor and report on economic policies in foreign countries and offer advice to the home government on how best to influence them. Economic diplomacy engages contacts with foreign and sending states’ institutions, businesses and international organizations to advance the sending state’s economic interests,seeks to resolve bilateral trade disputes and negotiate with trading partners to liberalize world trade.
- Multi-Track Diplomacy
Multitrack Diplomacy is an expansion of the original distinction made by Joseph Montville in 1982, between track one (official, governmental action) and track two (unofficial, nongovernmental action) approaches to conflict resolution.The nine tracks of diplomacy included in Multi-Track Diplomacy are:
Track 1 – Government
Track 2 – Non-government/Professional
Track 3 – Business, or Peacemaking through Commerce.
Track 4 – Private Citizen, or Peacemaking through Personal Involvement.
Track 5 – Research, Training, and Education
Track 6 – Activism, or Peacemaking through Advocacy
Track 7 – Religion, or Peacemaking through Faith in action.
Track 8 – Funding, or Peacemaking through Providing Resources.
Track 9 – Communications and the Media, or Peacemaking through Information
Other Classification :
Type of diplomacy based on number of parties involved - bilateral diplomacy or diplomacy between two states (i.e. diplomatic representation of the sending state in a receiving state), multilateral diplomacy which involves diplomacy regarding regional or global issues and is used with a plurality of States through an international organization or at international conferences, and ad hoc diplomacy which involves other forms of diplomacy than the two aforementioned types of diplomacy. For example one can think of special missions to which States resort in order to entrust a diplomatic officer with the task to carry out one or many diplomatic assignments in a foreign State even though this officer does not belong to a permanent mission accredited to a country.
Tools of Diplomacy
Various processes and procedures have evolved over time for handling diplomatic issues and disputes:
Arbitration and mediations
Nations sometimes resort to international arbitration when faced with a specific question or point of contention in need of resolution. For most of history, there were no official or formal procedures for such proceedings. They were generally accepted to abide by general principles and protocols related to international law and justice.Sometimes these took the form of formal arbitrations and mediations. In such cases a commission of diplomats might be convened to hear all sides of an issue, and to come some sort of ruling based on international law.In the modern era, much of this work is often carried out by the International Court of Justice at The Hague, or other formal commissions, agencies and tribunals, working under the United Nations.Below are some examples.
Hay-Herbert Treaty Enacted after the United States and Britain submitted a dispute to international mediation about the US-Canadian border.
Pakistan's complaint that the Baghlihar project has violated the Indus Treaty was being examined by Swiss water expert Raymond Lafitte, who has been appointed as an arbitrator with the consent of both the countries.
Conferences
Other times, resolutions were sought through the convening of international conferences. In such cases, there are fewer ground rules, and fewer formal applications of international law.However, participants are expected to guide themselves through principles of international fairness, logic, and protocol.Some examples of these formal conferences are:
Hay-Herbert Treaty Enacted after the United States and Britain submitted a dispute to international mediation about the US-Canadian border.
Pakistan's complaint that the Baghlihar project has violated the Indus Treaty was being examined by Swiss water expert Raymond Lafitte, who has been appointed as an arbitrator with the consent of both the countries.
Conferences
Other times, resolutions were sought through the convening of international conferences. In such cases, there are fewer ground rules, and fewer formal applications of international law.However, participants are expected to guide themselves through principles of international fairness, logic, and protocol.Some examples of these formal conferences are:
Congress of Vienna (1815) – After Napoleon was defeated, there were many diplomatic questions waiting to be resolved. This included the shape of the map of Europe, the disposition of political and nationalist claims of various ethnic groups and nationalities wishing to have some political autonomy, and the resolution of various claims by various European powers.
The Congress of Berlin (June 13 – July 13, 1878) was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize conditions in the Balkans.
Negotiations
Sometimes nations convene official negotiation processes to settle an issue or dispute between several nations which are parties to a dispute. These are similar to the conferences mentioned above, as there are technically no established rules or procedures. However, there are general principles and precedents which help define a course for such proceedings.Some examples are:
Negotiations
Sometimes nations convene official negotiation processes to settle an issue or dispute between several nations which are parties to a dispute. These are similar to the conferences mentioned above, as there are technically no established rules or procedures. However, there are general principles and precedents which help define a course for such proceedings.Some examples are:
Camp David accord Convened in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter of the United States, at Camp David to reach an agreement between Prime Minister Mechaem Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt. After weeks of negotiation, agreement was reached and the accords were signed, later leading directly to the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979.
Treaty of Portsmouth Enacted after President Theodore Roosevelt brought together the delegates from Russia and Japan, to settle the Russo-Japanese War. Roosevelt's personal intervention settled the conflict, and caused him to win the Nobel peace prize.
The outcomes of diplomacy are usually spelled out through the following instruments:
Treaties : A treaty is an agreement under international law where the parties to it namely sovereign states and international organizations negotiate to reach common ground and avoid further conflict or disagreement
Conventions : A convention begins as an international meeting of representatives from many nations that results in general agreement about procedures or actions they will take on specific topics.It include many signatories and the original signatories encourage other countries to join long after the original agreement is reached.Ex : In 1973, representatives of 80 countries agreed on a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to protect rare plants and animals around the world.
Protocols : A protocol is an agreement that diplomatic negotiators formulate and sign as the basis for a final convention or treaty. The treaty itself may not be completed for many years.
Accords : An accord is an agreement but may not be legally binding where as treaty is a legally binding agreement
Alliances: An alliance is a pact, coalition or friendship between two or more parties, made in order to advance common goals and to secure common interests. It is a Political agreement between countries to support each other in disputes with other countries.
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and friendly relations.According to the Vienna Convention some of the roles of diplomat are as follows:
- The representation of state socially, politically and ceremonially in other countries.
- The protection of states interest, overseas nationals and states commercial activities.
- Negotiations on behalf of government and signing of agreements.
- Information gathering of states activities externally, and in missionary cases, gathering information from host countries.
- The promotion of cordial and friendly relations in the international system.
- Diplomats also create relationships and maintain good level of communication between external affairs and internal structures
Types of Diplomatic Missions
A country may have several different types of diplomatic missions in another country.
Embassy -- A diplomatic mission located in the capital city of another country which generally offer a full range of services, including consular services.
High Commission -- An embassy of a Commonwealth country located in another Commonwealth country.
Permanent Mission -- A diplomatic mission to a major international organization.
Consulate General -- A diplomatic mission located in a major city, other than the capital city, which provides a full range of services, including consular services.
Consulate -- A diplomatic mission that is similar to a consulate general, but which does not provide a full range of services.
Consulate Headed by Honorary Consul -- A diplomatic mission headed by an Honorary Consul which provides only a limited range of services.
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