Changing nature of Diplomacy
Bartson argues that ‘’Diplomacy is concerned with the management of relations between states and between states and other actors’’. ( Bartson, 2006, 1). Therefore it could be argued that Diplomacy is about cooperation and communication between states and non state actors .
According to Harold Nicolson,s analysis, written in 1961 in Foreign Affairs on the theme ‘Diplomacy then and now’ is coloured especially by the impact of the Cold War... (Bartson, 2006, 4).
The impact of the cold war had obviously a great impact in the evolution of diplomacy because in my view, secret diplomacy was developed by the two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there is a strong decline in the decision making power of ambassadors at the expense of the direct involvement of the head of states of governments which is a huge change in the nature of diplomacy.
The Iraq inquiry is a useful example where the main focus is on former Prime Minister Blair as head of government and responsible for the Iraqi War but nothing much on Jack Straw as a formal Secretary of State, therefore absence of diplomatic concern.
Finally, the impact of new technology has a significance change in diplomacy.
Alex Ross, senior adviser for innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explained in an interview transcript recorded on July 29, 2009, how the white house is changing its approach to diplomacy with the advent of new technologies. He argues that there is a major shift in communication technology, changing engagement between government to people and people-to-people and more importantly social media which is very new and important tool used by Obama to win the presidential elections.
For more information on how to access Alec Ross interview transcript that I really found interesting please go to: www.bigthink.com/ideas/16040