My Understanding of Diplomacy Today - by Ernest Andreyevich Reid

We have certainly come a long way since we started this module. There is so much we have learned about the art of diplomacy in these three months, which has made the picture a hundred times clearer that it was in February. This module enabled us to learn of so many different types of diplomacy, demonstrating how it plays a role not only in high politics (e.g. security), but also in low politics (e.g. environment). We have learned how diplomacy evolved from the days of Ebla-Hamazi through to Cardinal Richelieu and present day, becoming instrumental in every aspect of world politics, from negotiating peace to shaping world economy, bilaterally (e.g. state-to-state) and multilaterally (through UN, EU and co-operating with NGOs). I personally have found Public Diplomacy of particular interest, as it made me realise that diplomacy does not have to be direct and confined to the walls of a conference hall, and will definitely carry out further reading on it during the summer. In conclusion, I must state that New Diplomacy was one of the most interesting and informative modules I have studied and the knowledge gained from it has significantly improved my understanding of International Relations. Thank you, Steven