Traditional diplomacy and its contemporary relevance

   

Despite the fact that diplomacy has changed in many aspects, as it has become more open with the involvement of non-state actors concerning different global issues, it still has its basic structure and fundamental system rooted in traditional diplomacy. Traditional diplomacy, which was based on secrecy, high politics and bilateral agreements between the superpowers, played a key role in the history of human society and still influences the contemporary world. This essay will provide the main features of traditional diplomacy that still remain relevant to contemporary diplomacy.

Firstly, the main ideas that dominated traditional diplomacy were alliances betweens states in order to prevent wars and create a balance of power. A typical example of this system is the League of Nations, which was formed after the First World War, to realize a collective security alongside each state's attempts to pursue their own interest through negotiation and secret agreements. Although it failed to achieve its constructive targets, as it could not prevent the escalation of the Second World War, its main structure and spirit have been maintained and converted into the after-war new established organisation, the United Nations (UN). It can be argued that the UN is a more successful example in some ways, as it has obtained peace and security as well as promote economic development and cooperation among nations (Steans and Pettiford, 2005, pages 31-32). The UN represents a new diplomacy which is more public and objective with the participation of non-state actors and includes most nations in the world. However, the idea of balance of power and high politics remain important, as the UN permanent Security Council is made of the five powerful states (the USA, Russia, China, France and the UK) which have the ultimate decisions on global issues. For instance, this is why the USA decided to initiate the war in Iraq in 2003 despite the UN security concerns. To some extent, contemporary diplomacy might be evolved in some aspects, these original features still remain in the nature of diplomacy.

Secondly, the traditional hierarchical system, conducted with the Foreign Ministry as the head and embassies as department bodies, is still functional in contemporary diplomacy. This kind of system has limited the role of ambassadors in policy formulation and decision making. Ambassadors' attitude and actions are then mainly restrained and directed by the Foreign Ministry which can make negative impacts on the effectiveness of their works overseas. According to a US report: "Embassies are too often saddles with structures reflecting a preconceived notion of what embassies should be, rather than being easily adapted to fit the environment in which they must operate" (Riordan, 2003, page 14). It might take a longer time to make progress in this traditional network that will give ambassadors more authority over policy making process.

Thirdly, the traditional functions of the embassy, such as negotiation, promoting friendly relationship, representation, lobbying and consular services, are still important in contemporary diplomacy. Such social and ceremonial activities are necessary in order to strengthen the relationship between states, promote the image of the embassy itself and reflect the efficiency of embassy in the host country.

Finally, even though the new diplomacy has created an era of multilateral system, traditional bilateral agreements remain essential. Through bilateral agreements states can achieve noticeable and significant economical or political negotiation in particular issues. Therefore, many countries state their global concerns in multilateral conferences but pursue their national interests through bilateral agreements.

All these factors mentioned above are evidence for the influences and relevance of traditional diplomacy to the contemporary diplomacy. It can be argued that the new diplomacy is an adjusted version of the traditional one.

Bibliography:

Berridge, G. R. (2005), Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, 3rd edition, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills.

Riordan, S. (2003), The New Diplomacy, Polity, Cambridge.

Steans, J., Pettiford, L. with Diez T. (2005), Introduction to International Relations: Perspective and Themes, 2nd edition, Pearson Education Limited, England.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6MX0eN4AhU&feature=related - an interesting video of the current UK Foreign Secretary William Hague talking about the new aspects of British foreign policy.