Theory and Practice of Diplomacy - Essay Sample on Foreign Policy

In contemporary academic research, diplomacy has relatively been neglected subject, and sometimes it is even called the foreign policy "one of the lesser tools." The general public, most of them view diplomacy and the problems it encounters remain quite distant subjects with low relevance in their daily life. However, the real side of the research of diplomatic activity is that it is a continuous and essential trait of international affairs, and also it is a vital vehicle for having better understating of the global interactions among the full range of actors and make superior intelligence of the international system. Thus, diplomacy is becoming more significant because the contemporary foreign affairs' business is becoming everyone's business. Therefore, this paper aims to elaborate on the rise of international governmental organizations during the twentieth and twenty-first Centuries has altered the nature of diplomacy.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Although it is arguably, diplomacy as an essential tool for the management of international affairs, it is considered to have appeared in the seventeenth century. Its development was in line with the new organization of international relations erected by the sovereign fairness of nation-states. Therefore, the need for the more orderly conduct of associations among these polities arose due to the new nation-states that gradually declared their territorial domination which is based on typically accepted systems of protocol, procedures, and law. Thus, diplomacy came out of this new system of international relations as well as aided to fashion the associations (Bayne 2017). During the twentieth century especially in its first half, the nature of diplomacy changed drastically as a result of the emergence of the multilateral diplomacy inside the structure of international governmental organizations like League of Nation and the United Nations, its successor.

Globalization and its numerous consequences have significant effects on the conduct of international relations, and hence substantial impact on diplomacy and the global disorder is among the many changes supplementary to globalization. The new age of doubt for states and their diplomats has followed the end of the Soviet Union. The long-buried tribal, religious and ethnic differences are emerging to the surface, resulting in more internal conflicts that are less predictable, more asymmetrical and complex. Furthermore, the governmental structures are being weakened by globalization. As a result, the number of state failures goes up and increase social instability (Bjola & Holmes 2015). Consequently, the works of the diplomats are becoming appreciably more complicated due to these international disorders.

Diplomacy is encountering new challenge such as expanded foreign policy, changing social demand, agenda, and the rapid development of domestic agencies operating abroad. The application of advanced information technologies is an excellent example of the changing nature of diplomacy in the 21st century. Currently, the operativeness of the circulation of the information and its ease of access transforms the dynamics of diplomatic work needing other standards of information selection and faster reactions. Furthermore, this century agenda needs an expert in various sectors; finance, human rights, communication technology, energy issues, security problems, and terrorism (Archer 2014). Therefore, Diplomacy change in the 21st century is characterized along with fast-growing coordination and cooperation among international governmental organizations in solving different questions.

Also, diplomacy has changed to expanded diplomatic dialogue especially on the multilateral diplomacy; this because of the increased number of experts and specialists involved which is accompanied by the importance of the growth of the mass media and the international community. Just like security, diplomacy does not occur in a vacuum; therefore, as the world changes it also changes. Thus, the rise of the international governmental organizations comes with the increase of diplomacy because it comes with different changes that require adjustment of the diplomacy (Bjola & Kornprobst 2018). For instance, government administration offices and branches are always vulnerable to change in consideration of the rapidly emerging globalization and international relations that involve many actors hence the traditional diplomacy is not capable of withstanding many of these new issues.

Due to the rise of the 21st-century international governmental organizations, there is a need for political diplomacy's capacity to act inadequate response to non-traditional risks, threats, and vulnerabilities. For instance, the institutions of foreign affairs taking into account actual international and regional questions are obliged to immediately re-model traditional methods, develop a down to the business role and amending them to new conditions. The diplomats and foreign ministries require reinventing themselves as well as strengthening security at all levels of analysis (Bayne 2017). It is, therefore, a clear indication that these global issues were not in their purview traditionally, but no they should be concerned.

The rise of international governmental organizations in the 20th and 21st century was accompanied by technological growth. Communication is the core function of diplomacy makes this task crucial to diplomatic activity. Thus, any advancement of communication technology alters subtle practices beginning with the invention of the likes of the telegraph that led to the acceleration of international relations. Commentators have even predicted that the contemporary information and communication technology made diplomats irrelevant and redundant since communication has been transformed to be speedy and direct between politicians and government officials. Also, democratization is evident because every individual has the right to take part in the immediate worldwide communication (Bjola & Holmes 2015). Though predictions concerning diplomacy emerge to be excessive, it is unquestionable that modern technologies such as televisions, satellite communications, the continuous networks, mobile telephony as well as the internet make up the obvious structural transformation to the environment that diplomats from countries which are developed operate.

The rise of the international governmental organizations made it easier for the international agenda to be tabled and discussed as one society. As a manifestation of the amplified interdependence between nations that comes along with global integration, it is because of the indivisibility of countries fate that issues regarding international agenda have increased hence becoming more complex, technical and intertwined as compared to before. They comprise of the promotion of investment and trade, the fight against international organized crimes and terrorism, the support for sustainable development, the regulation of global financial systems, the prevention of conflict, and the cooperation on pressing on issues of human right but the list is not limited (Karns & Karen 2014). Therefore, concerning diplomacy, the new international agenda has led to more collaboration across countries and numerous activities in many regions of rising technical nature. Hence the generalist diplomat is led into unfamiliar territory.

In the early age, generations were able to live their lives free of international relations and diplomacy matters but, the new millennium of 20th and 21st century avoiding such concerns is close to the impossibility for the majority of the world's population. In the 20th century, the nature of international relations and diplomacy was these populations' ever-present interest and concern (Westermann-Behaylo, Rehbein & Fort 2015). Consequently, democratic nation-states and modern republican arose from the increased significance of international relations and diplomacy to almost everyone. The most important result is that every individual has a role in establishing government policies as well as the increased technology applied in warfare and this has made the world a small society and a dangerous one. The rise of international governmental organization in the 20th century has led to the most significant creative force in response to warfare that is the military technology which has shaped the realities of diplomacy. The cold war that was experienced was as a result of mutual fear among the Soviet Union and the United States that other side would launch a nuclear in the conflict of ideas (Simons 2014). After the fall of the Soviet Union, the dangerous weapons were left in the hands of terrorist and rogue nations. Therefore, ideologies like Iran and North Korea persisted in shaping diplomacy at the highest levels and bring the international governmental organizations in the mindset of average people.

The increased concern in politics and technology by individuals brought the actualities of International governmental organizations into homes around the globe that further defined diplomacy where international relations held more massive proportions as compared to before (Muldoon 2018). Therefore, the concern of the government being the concerns of the people made a 20th century to be distinctive, and this new development in the political participation resulted in a unique diplomat scenario in this century.

Also, the rise of the International governmental organizations in the 20th and 21st century shifted diplomacy from a policy tool to a global process of social involvement in managing the relationship. Since it is the only way to ensure a good rapport across the countries and managing relationship include placing in order the huge growing population in all nations. Also, by time diplomacy has changed from management of law to management of change and this is as a result of the rapid globalization occurring across countries (Archer 2014). Therefore, it can be merely be stated that today diplomacy is worried about the management of relations among states and between states with other actors.

The rise of the international governmental organizations has exerted pressure to politicians of the home country to respond quickly via the media for any critical occurrence in the foreign country to avoid critics and opponents. Therefore, it means that diplomatic activities are changing in speed due to the pressure exerted by the media for response and the reaction time for the leaders of a country and their diplomats have been notably being shortened. The diplomat placed in the regarded foreign country expects an immediate call from his foreign ministry enquiring for recommendations and explanations. The diplomats' decisions are now being based on less available information that could lead the risk of inaccurate responses and also when overwhelmed with information they tend to react on events instead of attempting to shape them (Bjola & Kornprobst 2018). Thus, the media's pressure and the need to account for new players in the performance of foreign policy is irrefutably a vital aspect of change for modern diplomatic practice.

In the 21st century, the rise of the international governmental organizations that was experienced led to uncovering of the political, social and economic boundaries between the home country and the global or the internationalization of the country policy. As a result, the interdependence between nations and the international agenda are linked with this breaking down of boundaries. Therefore, making it difficult to find an area with no international aspect and this scenario has a notable impact on diplomacy (Cogan & Derricott 2014). Diplomacy has therefore become progressively more untenable, this because the boundaries shaping operations of the countr...