The old diplomacy...

What are your impressions of the ‘old’ diplomacy? Has it become outmoded?
Diplomacy is a very ancient concept and can be traced back to the 12th century. However, there are some misconception about what it means, as it can often be mistaken for diplomatic history and therefore related more to foreign relations historically between countries rather than a process of maintaining and nurturing important relationships. We learnt that the ‘’old’’ diplomacy was secretive, often involved exclusive actors e.g. people of royal blood, and focused on high politics issues such as weaponry, the acquisition of land, threats from other countries, and matters of trade and economics. The answer to this question lies in what I have just said above. No, old diplomacy has not become outmoded because all of the processes involved in diplomacy still exist today, some at a larger scale, such as the issue of trade, weaponry and the economy, some at a much smaller scale, such as royal envoys. When these matters are not part of the political agenda of diplomats anymore then we can say that the old diplomatic methods have become outmoded and we have moved on to the new world order. There has been a history of optimism about the ‘new world’ since the beginning of the industrial revolution and has continued to flourish despite the gruesome modern wars. As an idealist myself, I can completely understand the desire to completely move away from anything which is shrouded in Imperialism and Eurocentric colonialist ambitions, but the realist take would be that so long as there is military and warfare in the world, the issue of war and peace will continue, and old diplomacy methods will continue. This is for a number of reasons, which I will highlight below
A) A complete departure away from the methods of old diplomacy suggest that all countries are on good terms with each other and that there is a mutual understanding among countries that diplomacy should be conducted openly, internationally, and involve not just high political issues but humanitarian issues too. In class today we already heard that this is not possible because not all ‘’states’’ are given that recognition and respect internationally. Very rarely would a Middle Eastern government have open diplomatic relations with Israel, and very rarely would a Western government treat an authoritarian leader of a developing country in this regard. The world never reached perfect communism and it is unlikely to do so under the promoted capitalist/secularist/democratic ideal of the 21st century. A Western leader doing business or conducting foreign relations with a dictator has to do it in secret. A powerful country might not negotiate a small developing country with the same conditions it would negotiate another powerful country. Since there is no shortage of corrupt politicians or developing countries, the methods of the old diplomacy will continue.
B) The old diplomacy IS the new diplomacy (at least part of it). Yes, even White agreed that supposed ‘’new’’ forms of diplomacy have long been rooted in diplomatic relations between countries.
C) Do countries still feel a need to protect their territory and independence?
Do the leaders of states hide information from the public? (think for example, the United States, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Iraq, United Kingdom)
Does the royal family still have significance in Western states?
Do diplomats and foreign embassies themselves place great values on humanitarian issues or is it more the pressure and influence on non state actors on those officials and the public?
Are countries still building up their military and weapons?
If you have agreed with any of the above, then you have just agreed that traditional diplomatic methods have not become extinct/outmoded.
Even though the idea that traditional diplomatic methods have become outmoded now seems quite euphoric, there still is hope. Despite the fact that most of the world is still developing, do not have populations well cared for and represented by their governments, and wars are still occurring (illegally) the Western world (mainly..) have set a new standard for the international community to follow. They have tried to make their dialogue and communication between states as open to the public as possible, have legitimate news sources such as BBC world, Euro news, and CNN international (to a certain extent), they continually address socio-political-economic issues at a human level, and try to ensure that they only associate publicly with states that have civilized governments. Still, diplomacy is going through and will continue to go through a huge overhaul in the coming years as international security, the economy, technology, scientific developments, education, and law, become increasingly important subjects in diplomatic discussions.

Mais.