Diplomacy in practice

In an introductory session we will set the scene for what is to follow in this series of lectures by looking at some basic approaches to the study of diplomacy. Ours will be a pragmatic one: diplomacy is what diplomats do.

Before tackling that question, though, we will briefly review the conceptual building blocks of diplomacy, its basic vocabulary: power, balance, security dilemma, influence, coercion, (vital) interest, engagement vs. containment, legitimacy vs. efficacy etc. We will then put these concepts at work in a case study. We will make a critical assessment of the “State of the World” from a macro-political point of view. What are the powers at work in a world characterized by strategic unease, uncertainty and unpredictability? How do the main players – US, Russia, China and Europe – interact? Where does the EU stand in all this?

We then will proceed to address the core business of diplomacy: peace and security. And we will do this by running through the Conflict Cycle. Preventing conflict is what diplomats are being paid for. But why then has the lofty concept of preventive diplomacy not gotten off the ground. Managing latent conflict situations is about getting a grip on the elusive dialectic between competition and cooperation. We’ll say something on that. Getting to understand the mind of the other is key in preventing and managing conflict. We’ll be looking at some important differences between the Western and the Eastern mind, so often overlooked by otherwise well-meaning diplomats.

When diplomacy fails and conflict could not be prevented or contained, parties may have recourse to the threat with, or effective use of force. Threatening with force is a tricky issue and poses the question of credibility (the ‘red-lines’ issue). Effectively using force is even trickier: there are questions of legitimacy/legality (jus ad bellum and jus in bello) and opportunity (so-called wars ‘of choice’ vs. ‘of necessity’). The crucial role in this respect of the UN Security Council will be looked at. Building peace has proven more difficult than conducting war, as the Iraq case has clearly demonstrated. We will be looking at post-conflict efforts at reconciliation and rehabilitation, and study issues regarding peace settlement, transitional justice and state building, thus closing the Conflict Cycle.

A diplomat’s life does not unfold in a normative vacuum. Values, standards, principles and rules constrain State’s behaviour in many ways. We will have a brief look at the place of Human Rights and the Rule of Law, as well as the role of International Law and Global Ethics in the conduct of international relations.

At this stage we will move from the What-question (‘What is the diplomat concerned with’) to the How-question (‘How does he go about it’). We thus enter the field of diplomatic skills.

Negotiation is at the core of a diplomat’s job. We will look at the structure of a negotiation setting and the often implicit rules governing its dynamics. We will then study some ‘golden’ rules of the effective negotiator. We’ll say something on compromises, and in particular on rotten compromises. And we will have again to address the crucial question of the so-called ‘rational empathy’: entering into and then decoding your adversary’s mind.

Following negotiation we will say something on effective communication generally and on the “art” of speech-writing and persuasive speech-delivery specifically. We next move to the effective handling of interviews by an assertive/aggressive press: what’s to be done and what definitely not. We may also say a few words on drafting (of reports to capitals, press-communiqués, UN-resolutions…). Finally, we’ll reserve a special moment to a very special kind of skill, the negative skill ‘not to’ … but I leave that as a surprise.

We will conclude the series of lectures with a tentative sketch of the profile of the “model diplom