Diplomacy is the art of representing a nation’s national interests abroad, through the use of peaceful measures

The art of diplomacy can be treated as:

• A profession that requires a set of skills and competencies to perform

• A unique process the essence of which is negotiation

• A process of international cooperation centered on the making and maintaining agreements among nations

We have little documentation about diplomatic activities or about events entailing diplomacy and negotiations in ancient times.

For example, the alliance between Abraham and the four kings, leading to the war against the five kings (Genesis 11),

The summit meeting between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

The history of ancient Greece (due to sources such as Thucydides’s The Peloponnesian Wars) is full of accounts of diplomatic activity, e.g., exchange of ambassadors, military alliances, peace treaties, war termination negotiations, etc.

In the middle ages, the practice of diplomacy was reduced to minimum with the practical disappearance of the state. Yet diplomatic practice re-emerged during the Renaissance, and preceded the formation of the modern nation-state in Europe

The first modern diplomats were merchants who established commercial branches abroad. These merchants collected information about the social and political life in the host countries and even conducted negotiations with the political elites and the leaders of these host countries.

As the diplomatic profession gained prominence and prestige, political leaders started to appoint relatives and supporters for diplomatic posts.

Francois de Cailleres, On the Manner of Negotiating with Princes, published in 1713 is perhaps the first textbook on Diplomacy.

This book included a list of qualities considered crucial for competent performance of the tasks of diplomacy. These qualities included:

1. Natural qualities: agreeable character, intelligence, sense of humor, good looks, patience, self-control

2. Acquired qualities: Knowledge and understanding of history and society, languages, experience and understanding of negotiations, etc.

The 18th and 19th centuries were the golden age of diplomacy.

Diplomats acquired very high status, were given considerable latitude and independence in their dealings with foreign leaders, and had significant influence on the foreign policy of their home states, as well as on the structure of the international system as a whole.

People like Talleyrand of France, Meternich of Austria-Hungary, Bismarck of Germany, D’Israeli of Great Britain, and Thomas Jefferson of the United States have made their mark on the profession, making it second in importance only to absolute monarchs.

The nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century witnessed also the rise of summit diplomacy: The meetings of two or more heads of states aimed at signing major agreements.

The Congress of Vienna (1815), the Congress of London (1831-32), the Congress of Berlin (1878), the Versailles treaty (1919) and the Yalta and Potsdam summits (1945) mark major treaties that ended wars and established a new world order.

Also, technological changes and changes in the structure of state governments imposed a shift from traditional patterns of diplomacy to “new” ones. These mark the revolution in diplomacy, the shift from the “old” to the “new” diplomacy.

• Intelligence and information gathering

• Public relations

• Negotiations

• Administrative representation

Intelligence and Information

• Collection of public and official information

• Collection of classified information (spying)

• Political, economic, and social assessments

Negotiations

Negotiations refer to a joint decision making process wherein two or more parties try to reach an agreement through concessions and argumentation, while each is trying to maximize its own payoffs.

For negotiations to take place two conditions must be met:

• There must be a conflict of interest between or among the parties

• All parties must believe that there exist some possible agreements that make each of them better off than no agreement

Buyer

Seller

$

Seller’s utility

Buyer’s utility

Buyer’s reservation price

Seller’s reservation price

Zone of agreement

Relaying official political positions to political leaders in host state

Relaying official political positions to public opinion and selected audiences in host state

Relaying general information about home state to different audiences in host state (e.g., politicians, media, academics, general public)

Diplomatic mission are extension of the home government abroad. Thus, each diplomatic mission contains two key elements: A diplomatic element, whose chief functions are political (negotiation, information, etc.), and a consular elements, whose chief functions are administrative.

Administrative representation includes: 1. Representation of home citizens and home institutions in

the host state 2. Management of the affairs of citizens of the home state in

the host state (e.g., facilitation of economic ties, handling legal problems of home citizens etc.)

3. Immigration policy.

Factors affecting change

1. Communication technology

2. Transportation technology

3. Intelligence technology

4. Democratization of international politics

Traditional Diplomacy

New Diplomacy

1.Negotiations

2.Intelligence

3. Public Relations

4. Administrative Representation

1. Administrative representation

2. Public Relations

3. Intelligence

4. Negotiations