The practice of diplomacy involves managing relationships between governments in order to resolve issues, find common ground and encourage discussion. It’s a vital part of international politics that, when successful, can reduce or even prevent conflict.
Diplomacy also aims to foster and promote economic, commercial and cultural relations between nations. It helps to ensure that states are treated fairly – regardless of their different constitutional and social systems – by creating a level playing field where they can negotiate without fear of reprisals.
While diplomacy is usually conducted between sovereign states, it can also be applied to other sites of power and influence such as huge corporations, religious organisations or NGOs. Such institutions can often wield tremendous influence and therefore need to be carefully managed using diplomatic methods.
A diplomat is a professional who is accredited by a government to represent it abroad. They can be found in embassies across the world, but they are not immune from being accused of espionage by their host country – which can lead to their being declared persona non grata and subject to prosecution or expulsion from the country. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) establishes the rules for how a diplomat should be treated and ensures that they can discuss information freely and without fear of being punished for it.
Diplomacy can take a long time to produce results, and it can be risky too. For example, Obama used ‘big stick diplomacy’ when he sent aircraft carriers to the Yellow Sea near North Korean shores in 2010 to send a message of force, which could have provoked war.
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