Brian White on diplomacy

White in his essay has pointed out that one of the key changes taking place in the nature of diplomacy is its shift from a mere instrument of state behaviour of both developing and developed nations. He elaborates that diplomacy was used to emphasize the traditional dominance of states as international actors, however, even the most powerful states are no longer the only important international actors in a global diplomatic system. White is of the view that bilateral state to state diplomacy has increasingly has been supplemented by multilateral forms of diplomacy. This multilateral diplomacy, he elaborates, is conducted by a mixture of state and non-state actors. According to White, international organizations perform very much in the same way as states. Intergovernmental organizations like the UN or non-governmental organizations like the multinational corporations can communicate and use their resources to influence the outcome of negotiations. White is of the view that these actors have a greater ability to influence the diplomatic process at a global level than smaller states. At regional level, according to him, complex multilateral types of diplomacy have been developed which have reached their most developed form in Europe and is evident by the foreign and external policies implemented in the EU. White has termed these developments as important ones as they raise key questions about the extent to which the state and state system remain, the main vehicles for global diplomacy.