Urban Diplomacy

By examining the great economic and political transformations of our time, it is revealed how cities and their hinterlands have become part of globalisation. The global city has joined the group of actors who develop diplomatic, political and communicative action in a manner that is de facto and lawful. Thus, the city is involved in the formulation of foreign policy at the same time that it proposes its own political agenda, which may or may not be aligned with its own country. The city thereby becomes a source of innovation in the field of diplomacy. The Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating the political and diplomatic role of cities, which have become epicentres of prevention and response in the face of this public health crisis.

Faith-based Diplomacy and Interfaith Dialogue

Scholars are seeking to identify how to integrate faith into diplomacy constructively. Proponents of faith-based diplomacy recognise that incorporating faith into peacemaking activities assists in alleviating identity-based conflict and religiously motivated violence in the contemporary international system. A promising strategy within the scope of faith-based diplomacy is interfaith dialogue. The study and practice of interfaith dialogue have been reinvigorated since the advent of 9/11, and yet the link between interfaith dialogue and diplomacy remains underdeveloped. The cases of Indonesia and the United States show that states can effectively use interfaith dialogue to achieve policy objectives, and yet some policies are detrimental to achieving goals. Faith-based diplomacy and interfaith dialogue can be innovative diplomatic perspectives useful in addressing contemporary global issues.

National Styles in Science, Diplomacy, and Science Diplomacy: a Case Study of the United Nations Security Council P5 Countries

Science diplomacy is becoming an important tool by which states can more effectively promote and secure their foreign policy agendas. Recognising the role science plays at national and international levels and identifying a state's national diplomatic style can help to construct a ‘national style' in science diplomacy. In turn, understanding science diplomacy can help one evaluate a state's potential for global governance and to address global issues on a systematic scale. By using a Realist framework and by testing proposed hypotheses, this study highlights how different national styles in science diplomacy affect competition between major powers and their shared responsibility for global problems. This study adds to our general understanding of the practice of diplomacy as it intersects with the sciences.

The Geopolitics of Cyberspace: a Diplomatic Perspective

The Internet has been seen as the harbinger of a world without borders or sovereignty. But states have recently reemerged in Cyberspace, asserting sovereignty or using it to pursue conflict with rivals. This article explores the geopolitics of Cyberspace. It argues that critical geopolitical concepts like geopolitical fields, culture and conditions can offer insights into the behaviour of actors in Cyberspace. The argument is explored through case studies of the US, Russia and China. The article goes beyond traditional nation states to apply similar analysis to the European Union and Internet companies. It concludes that both classical and critical geopolitics can make valuable contributions to the analysis of Cyberspace, and the behaviour of both state and non-state actors. Diplomacy has a crucial role in managing geopolitical conflicts in Cyberspace. But diplomats need to rethink their engagement and reform the structures and cultures in which they operate.

Think Tank Diplomacy

Think tanks demonstrably play a role in diplomacy. Not long ago, the idea of think tank diplomacy would have provoked scepticism, but the nature of diplomacy has changed from a state-centric club to a polylateral network characterised by a diversity of actors and communication methods. As organisations producing independent intellectual outputs to influence public policy, think tanks engage in at least four diplomatic functions: negotiation, communication, information-gathering and promoting friendly relations in international affairs. Case studies show that think tanks both directly perform diplomatic functions and act indirectly as facilitators of diplomacy: as metaphorical hired guns, charm offensive, witnesses and safe space; as a school for diplomats, personal trainers, chief knowledge officer and wise council. Think tanks need to overcome obstacles including resource constraints and relationships with policy-makers to reach their full potential in contributing to diplomacy.

Defence Diplomacy in the Long War

One of the most dominant security issues of twenty-first century has been theu.s.led battle against transnational terrorism—the aptly named Long War. Over the past fifteen years the Long War has been examined using multiple perspectives; however, one central mechanism is missing in current analyses: defence diplomacy. Defence diplomacy enhances the diplomatic and security capacity of a state, providing the only link between executive office and the ministries of foreign affairs and defence, two vital institutions in the Long War. Using a case study ofu.s.defence diplomacy in Afghanistan from 2001–2014, the paper argues simply that the practice of defence diplomacy far outweighs current theories on what it is, how it works and why it matters? The paper aims to generate a more nuanced understanding of defence diplomacy, as well as identifying it as a key component of theu.s. ct/coinstrategy to achieve its Long War policy objectives.

Symbolic Insult in Diplomacy

This paper approaches symbolic insult in diplomacy as the use of symbolic means by states to oppress the opponent’s sense of Self, to hurt its self-esteem and social status in order to achieve their foreign policy objectives, or as a reaction to a threat from Other. The paper posits that diplomatic actors are extremely sensitive to Self related matters, and may use such sensitivity for influencing each other, bargaining over the issues of importance, and simply defending their sense of Self while they confront the opponent. The enormous importance of collective Self in diplomacy may instigate a variety of social strategic games, including tacit and deceptive ones. The diplomatic actor’s acute sensitivity to recognition, honor and social status sharpens its sense of Self, which makes any humiliation painful. Therefore, protection of self-regard, dignity and public face becomes a critical issue in diplomatic practice. At the same time, that makes the diplomatic actor’s Self vulnerable, and provides the opposing Other opportunities for manipulation and symbolic abuse.The paper argues that symbolic insult in diplomacy occurs in a highly normative environment, and depends on political objectives, shared knowledge, social perception and practices, and can negatively affect relationships between diplomatic actors, the opponent’s self-perception, self-feeling and security of Self—ontological security. I distinguish three forms of symbolic insult used in diplomacy: by misrecognition (“diplomatic bypassing”), direct confrontation (“diplomatic punch”) and concealed verbal or nonverbal actions (“diplomatic slap”). The paper focuses on the third, indirect form, or “diplomatic slap” which employs obscure symbolic insults as a means of tacit manipulation for influencing the opponent, or as an instrument of restoring social status.By highlighting interest-based (political), value-based (moral), relationship-based (social) and right-based (legal) imperatives of international diplomacy, this paper shows that diplomatic actors can use symbolically expressed but subtle “slap” for balancing their interests and relationships in dealing with the opponent: Tacit or implicit symbolic insult usually appears ambiguous which may allow the offender to promote its interests but also to stay engaged with the victim.

Transprofessional Diplomacy

Diplomacy is no longer restricted to a single vocation nor implemented exclusively through interaction amongst official representatives. In exploring the challenges that these transformations produce, this work surveys firstly, thegenealogyof diplomacy as a profession, tracing how it changed from a civic duty into a vocation requiring training and the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills. Secondly, using the lens of thesociologyof professions, the development of diplomacy as a distinctive profession is examined, including its importance for the consolidation of the power of modern nation-states. Thirdly, it examines how the landscape of professional diplomacy is being diversified and enriched by a series of non-state actors, with their corresponding professionals, transforming thephenomenologyof contemporary diplomacy. Rather than seeing this pluralization of diplomatic actors in negative terms as thedeprofessionalization of diplomacy, we frame these trends astransprofessionalization, that is, as a productive development that reflects the expanded diplomatic space and the intensified pace of global interconnections and networks, and the new possibilities they unleash for practising diplomacy in different milieus.