Contemporary Challenges in Diplomacy

This course examines in detail a range of contemporary issues that present challenges for diplomatic practitioners and which appear to demand innovative diplomatic responses. There are an increasing number of global and regional issues which can only be managed through diplomatic processes, not through the use of force. But how best to manage these issues is exceptionally challenging. For example, the increase in violent international terrorism is putting the debate about whether diplomacy is a necessary but not sufficient management under the spotlight. Moreover, there are other types of challenges that are the result of new methods of practicing diplomacy, such as digital diplomacy and network diplomacy. Into the mix, the increasing networks of state-based diplomats and non-state actors, raise questions about the exact nature of diplomatic challenges from the perspective of the different players. These challenges raise practical and intellectual questions. For example, in a globalising and interdependent world exactly what comprises states’ interests and who decides – how do the representatives of the state, the state-based diplomats, attempt to reconcile their state’s national interests around issues that require collective action. What does sovereignty mean today and how do state-based diplomats and non-state actors frame and negotiate sovereignty? How are global and regional multilateral institutions and regimes negotiated and in whose interests and values? Is international law or politics the structure that directs diplomatic agency and practice? Does the analysis of diplomatic practices concerned with contemporary diplomatic challenges provide generalisations that inform a theory of practice?