Diplomacy is the art of conducting international relations.¹ The word is often used, incorrectly, as a synonym for foreign policy. Whereas the latter can be described as the substance, aims and attitudes of a state's relations with others, diplomacy is one of the instruments employed to put these into effect.

Historical Background²

Diplomacy is concerned with dialogue and negotiations and in this sense is not merely an instrument of state, it is also an institution of the state - system itself. Since the emergence of the state - system in Europe in the fifteenth century an organized and fairly coherent system or permanent relations has developed among the actors and, even when these relations have been interrupted by armed conflict, diplomacy has still been the principal means of communication. Indeed, although it is common to separate the diplomatic and the military means at a state's disposal, actual practice has tended to blue the distinction. As Frederick the Great once remarked, 'diplomacy without force is like music without instruments'. So diplomacy as an instrument and as an institution is an essential part of the whole rationale of international relations.

Main Function of Diplomacy

The main function of diplomacy is negotiation - which broadly means discussions designed to identify common interesteds and areas of conflict between the parties. To establish the conditions under which negotiations can take place a number of other tasks are undertaken. The first is representation. The emissary, or ambassador, is one of the earliest political roles established in human society, but it was not until the fifteenth century in the italian city-states that the concept of apermenent representative mission (or legation) was formalized.

Purpose and Function

During the Renaissance period a systematic and largely professional diplomatic service was established with the purpose of obtaining information, interpreting policies and trends, safefuarding military and political interests and promoting commerce and trade links. Certainly the promotion of trade has always been a central part of the activity of diplomacy and is not, as some allege, a comparatively recent innovation. The Venetian diplomatic service was initially a commercial venture and there is much evidence that the spur to organized diplomacy on a permanent and spatially satic basis was just as much economic as political or military. As second function of diplomacy besides representation of a state's interests is to formulate and identify these goals and objectives. Preparing policy guidelines and initiatives for their political masters to accept or reject is usually the task of a Foreign Ministry, rather than an ambassador on location, although their views will obviously be influential. Another function, in the larger sense, is the overall management of orderly relations as well as being the means whereby chagne is effected. Finally, diplomacy is concerned with establishing and renewing the rules and procedures which regulate the international system. In this last sense, diplomacy is the enabling vehicle for the operation of international law and international organizations.

The rules which established a common and coherent diplomatic system were developed in piecemeal fashion from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries. The extraterritoriality rule was established during the period of Louis XIV, the notion of the corps diplomatique emerged in the eighteenth century, and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 can be credited with laying down the procedures for precedence and with promoting the doctrine of the formal equaity of states. In the twentieth century the Vienna conventions of 1961, 1963 and 1969 have codified international law relating to Diplomatic Relations, Consular Relations and the Law of Treaties, thus tightening up and giving new impetus to past and future practice.

Most states now recognize and implement these developments. The near universal acceptance of diplomacy and its trappings has not, however, had as smooth a ride as the foregoing might suggest. It has come under attack from all aspects of the ideological spectrum in recent times. The Soviet Union rejected it in 1917 as did China from 1949 to the early 1970s, the United States, especially under Woodrow Wilson, expressed qualms about it, the new states established during the 1950s and 1960s as a result of the anti-colonial revolution were very uneasy about it and of course Iran and Islamic fundamentalism is its most bitter contemporary opponent. Nevertheless, after an initial period of formal ideological rejection most states, including all of the above, have been drawn into the system, mainly because there exist no alternatives to it.

Changes have occured both in the conduct of diplomacy and in the personel associated with it. Most commentators point to the following developments which occurred as a result of the increasing complexity of inter-state relations; the intrusion of ideological conflict and the opening up of diplomatic dialogue; the change of emphasis from bilateral to multilateral dealings; the decline in the decision-making power of the ambassador; the advent of personal diplomacy; the increased use of experts and specialists; the involvement of ministries not normally associated with foreign affairs; the increased number of treaties; the growth in importance of the media and the expansion of the international community and of non-state actors. This enhancement and elanrgement of the scope of modern diplomacy and the widening of its agenda has resulted in a change of emphasis (more on economic issues than on traditional high politics), rather than on any major change in function. This remains in essence the same as it has always been; namely, to manage and conduct orderly relations in a multi-state, politically fragmented international system.

New Information Technology and Diplomacy³

The advancement of technologies has dramatically changed the means by which states conduct diplomacy. Over the past century, diplomacy was commonly referred to the art of advancing national interests through the sustained exchange of information among governments, nations, and other groups. Its purpose is to change attitudes and behavior as a way of reaching agreements and solving problems.

In response to the rapid changes in information technology, diplomacy today refers not only to the advancement of national interests and the practice of persuasion but also to the management of global issues.

Diplomacy has moved from being dominated in the nineteenth and the first part of the twentieth century by the management of war and peace to include in the post-World War II period economic and trade policy issues as being of equal importance. Diplomacy has also already been significantly changed by an increase in the number of states, many of whom come to the table with different cultures.

The conduct of diplomacy is changing. Although the capacity of diplomats to adapt to the use of Internet Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the conduct of diplomacy plays a crucial role in their missions, the traditional way of "face to face" interaction is still considered important compared to "video conferencing" or "teleconferencing". The use of ICTs in diplomatic negotiations does not work very well unless the parties know each other and the issues involved are minor.

New information technologies provide an excellent means of communication but cannot guarantee that "a communication is excellent." Diplomacy is essentially a human activity whose quality depends on the quality of the people engaged in it. ⁴