COURSE MANUAL
COURSE CONTENT MATERIALS
NOTE ON DIPLOMACY
The Concept of Diplomacy and Diplomat
• The concept of Diplomacy
1. “Diplomacy is the process of representation and negotiation by which states customarily deal
with one another in times of peace.” Padelford and Lincoln
2. “Diplomacy is the application of intelligence and tact to the conduct of official relations
between governments of independent states.” Sir Ernest Satow
3. “Diplomacy is the management of international relations by means of negotiations; the method
by which these relations are adjusted and managed by ambassadors and envoys the business or
art of the diplomats.” Harold Nicholson
4. “Diplomacy is the promotion of the national interest by peaceful means.” Hans J. Morgenthau On the basis of these definitions, it can be said that Diplomacy is the mechanism for the promotion of the national interest of the nation that it represents. It is done by means of negotiations and conduct of relations with other nations. Diplomacy is always guided and conditioned by the
foreign policy of the nation that it represents.
It can also be referred to as the established method of influencing the decisions and behaviour of
foreign governments and peoples through dialogue, negotiation, and other measures short of war
or violence.
• Who is a diplomat?
A diplomat (from Ancient Greek: δίπλωμα; romanized diploma) is a person appointed by
a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to
conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or international organizations.
People who practice diplomacy are called diplomats. Diplomats try to help their own country,
encourage cooperation between nations, and maintain peace. A group of diplomats representing
one country that lives in another country is called a diplomatic mission. A permanent diplomatic
mission is called an embassy. An ambassador is the lead diplomat at an embassy. A large diplomatic mission may have representation besides a single embassy. Other places of representation are called consulates.
In the 18th century, the French term diplomate (“diplomat” or “diplomatist”) came to refer to a person authorized to negotiate on behalf of a state.
Diplomats are the primary but far from the only practitioners of diplomacy. They are specialists in carrying messages and negotiating adjustments in relations and the resolution of quarrels between states and peoples. Their weapons are words, backed by the power of the state or organization they represent. Diplomats help leaders to understand the attitudes and actions of foreigners and to develop strategies and tactics that will shape the behaviour of foreigners, especially foreign governments. The wise use of diplomats is a key to successful foreign policy.
Modern diplomatic practices are a product of the post-Renaissance European state system.
Historically, diplomacy meant the conduct of official (usually bilateral) relations between sovereign states. By the 20th century, however, the diplomatic practices pioneered in Europe had been adopted throughout the world, and diplomacy had expanded to cover summit meetings and other international conferences, parliamentary diplomacy, the international activities of supranational and subnational entities, unofficial diplomacy by nongovernmental elements, and the work of international civil servants.
• Functions of a diplomat
1. Relationship Building
One of the primary functions of a diplomat is to build and improve relations with his foreign host country. In this role, a diplomat offers guidance to his host country on topics that affect the well-being of the people and governments of both countries. A diplomatic person may effectively resolve disagreements between his home and host countries and negotiate solutions to political and social differences. He accomplishes these tasks by connecting with leaders and decision-makers in both governments and local community leaders and members.
2. Reporting and Policy Development
A diplomat's job description includes writing detailed, factual reports about his observations and
thoughts regarding the developments in his host country that affect his home country's interests. They may become part of recommendations to his government about how it should act to further its interests and respond to changes in the world. For example, federal departments in the United States focused on economic, labour, scientific, military, safety, health, environment, agriculture, social and other areas use these reports to develop foreign and domestic policies, draft agreements for trade or investments and handle legal issues that can occur abroad.
3. Consular Services
In the host country, a diplomat provides general and emergency support to citizens travelling or living abroad, and foreign nationals interested in learning more about, visiting or moving to his home country. General services might include providing document notarization support, citizen voting-in-absentia and tax filing assistance and foreign national visa issuance and relocation information and help.
A diplomat must be able to handle stress and act decisively in a crisis, according to the U.S.
Department of State. Emergency services might include issuing hazardous region warnings, assisting with and coordinating citizen evacuations, providing financial aid or re-issuing travel documents to citizens experiencing hardship abroad, helping with missing, abducted or deceased citizen cases and resolving requests for asylum from foreign nationals.
4. Media and Publicity
The functions of a diplomat include acting as the representative of his country and using his public exposure and status to promote his host country’s interests and policies by interacting with foreign and domestic media entities. He might speak with his government about developments in his host country or the world as they arise and issue statements on his country’s behalf to the press. He might also invite the media to join him at social functions. He could coordinate and hold online events between representatives of his home and host countries and invite members of the media and citizens of both countries to observe and interact.
Diplomacy in International Relations (IR)
Diplomatic activities maximise the position and power of different countries without bringing
intense risk or repercussions, and this is the safest way to handle international business and
relationships. Even though diplomacy can’t always promise friendships between countries, it can
at least usually guarantee neutrality over hostility.
Nation states therefore make use of diplomacy at the bilateral level (with another nation state), at
the regional level (with other nation states that have an interest or are geographically located at a
specific region), or at the global level being part of intergovernmental or international
organisations (IGO).
The increase of complexity in diplomacy over the centuries has promoted the specialisation of
diplomacy to specific fields or niches such as science diplomacy, climate diplomacy, education
diplomacy, water diplomacy, cyber diplomacy, techplomacy, and so forth.
International Relations are an area of study in social sciences and humanities that covers matters
of politics, economics, and law at the global scale. It focuses on the relationships between political entities or polities of different nature (Nation states, IGOs, non-governmental organisations, multinational corporations…) with the world systems that result from it.
• Meaning of International Relations
International Relations is the study of conflict and cooperation by international actors, as
furthered by the development and testing of hypotheses about international outcomes.
The field of international relations concerns the relationships among the various governments of
the world. These relationships linked with other actors such as international organisations (IOs),
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), transnational corporations (TNCs) and not able
individuals make them interdependent. Indeed, no nation can live in isolation independent of
other nations. Whether big or small, rich or poor, powerful or weak, every nation depends on
other nations. This explains why all states in the international system live in an atmosphere of
interdependence. Owing to the fact that IR is in transition following emerging realities in the
international system, it has become difficult arriving at a universally acceptable definition of the
subject. However, scholars have persisted in their attempt to define international relations. In the
words of Karl Deutsch, “international relations is that area of human action where inescapable interdependence meets with inadequate control.”
There is no escaping from world affairs, yet we cannot shape them totally to our will. There is
always interplay between foreign policy and domestic politics, the two component parts of
international relations. There are multiple contests and conflicts of interests, which ensure that
both foreign policy and domestic politics that constantly pushed and pulled in contradictory
directions for the safety and prosperity of each nation and indeed the survival of humanity hang
on this sea-saw.
Diplomacy can then be defined as the way of conducting International Relations, particularly
using negotiations and dialogues to promote peaceful relations.
Significance of Diplomacy in International Relations (IR)
Diplomacy as a tool of international relations can be defined as the practice and process
of conducting negotiations, holding discussions and meetings between or among accredited
representatives of countries and intergovernmental organizations (Bossman E. Asare, 2018). It
could also mean the processes in which government on behalf of its citizens interrelate and
cooperate with other governments overseas to come up with policies which seems to be of
interest of the mass or constituent states. In international relations, represent
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