The New Diplomacy

The concept of the New diplomacy primarily consists of 'para diplomacy', public diplomacy and multilateral diplomacy. Although they are arguably, equally relevant and interrelated; acting as 'vehicles of transparency' between state operations and the public, their uniqueness is commensurate to their relatative impacts on society.


The displeasure and 'global' protests of the masses registered against the (US/UK versus IRAQ) war in 2003 proved futile. Six years on, we live with the human and financial costs and the utter declining confidence in governments- A glaring example of failed public diplomacy. Eventhough claims of rebuilding Iraq are being preached, the selfish pursuits of 'national interests' are not opaque to the people these governments serve. Inappropriate actions which led to 'this mess' cannot be undone, and lessons learnt may be inadequate as the British public are still in demand of a public enquiry.
The intervention of internatonal NGOs (Amnesty International) however, become relevant in the extremes of war crimes by providing legal representation regarding issues of rape, discrimination and trampled human rights.


Several instances where non state actors have played a major role included celebrity diplomacy; where the record numbers of the public have responded by contributing to raise funds towards HIV/AIDS projects in Africa.(Public health diplomacy)- The money raised in 24hrs by 'Comic Relief'' is undoudtedly unmatched by what departments of health programmes of Countries can do for the same purposes.

After two decades of the absence of diplomatic relations between the US and Iran the mere organsation of sports between them in the long ran helped to improve relations. The referee was an Iranian-American and though there were tensions in the stadium the Iranians who cheered for the Iranians had come from Europe and America. This kind of relationship which was fostered between the two countries as result of (Sport diplomacy) would have taken them a very long and expensive route to attain.

The practice of bilateral diplomacy though completely unavoidable, is narrow to its achievements on selected matters such as national security. However the NGO diplomacy by far outweighs the its achievents as it constanty aims to improve preserve the very existence humanity-human security.

There is a catlogue of countless acievements of NGOs due to their global audience and massive resources to deal with specific social issues. A common example is their constant feature in UN formal meetings and conferences where they constantly make specialist contributions which has aided the drafting of the childrens act, contributions to poverty and socio-economic factors including immigration.

It is however apparent that non state actors, ranging from individuals to huge international organisations through their actions or operations can reach the very core of social issues that states otherwise may or can not deal with to mobilise maximum communal benefit.

The democratisation of world governance that 'non-state actors' hope for will be truly triumphant in the era where civil society is able to shape foreign policy.