The diplomacy of Global Village

As the world has become increasingly interconnected and interdependent, so does politics amongst states has entered different stage in the way they are conducted. In this globalized world the diplomacy had become a necessity in building up bridges amongst states in variety of issues. Looking back in the history, it is clearly evident that diplomatic activities were mainly in bilateral bases. Furthermore, the old diplomacy lacked the concept of transparency and openness and was of a main concern in regards of security issues. It is argued, it remained so till the end of the Cold War. It was after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the liberal democracy triumphed as the global ideology and led to the transformation in the conduct of diplomatic activities towards a new, transparent way of work. The notion of bilateral diplomacy began fading away, since the need of multilateral negotiations was the key element in establishing a new, peaceful international stage. And as states are not longer willing to fight a war in order to gain status of a super power, the role of diplomacy has increased its importance. In this sense, is inevitable not to mention the role of the public diplomacy, which has been widely accepted as a positive force, where diplomats had become co-ordinators, facilitators and catalysts in the establishment of dialogue between states. In contrary to the propagandistic way of communicating with foreign states, the contemporary public diplomacy is based on the notions of credibility and reliability to promote a positive image in international stage. And what actually the new diplomacy tends to do, is to create a long term relationship amongst states.

The international relations tend to be a lot more complex compared to the ones 20-30 years ago. Huge changes have taken place and especially the increasing role of NGO's in recent diplomatic activities. Inevitable, NGO's and civil service has proven successful on particular issues of global importance, such as climate change, human rights issues and so on. They have managed to gather public support towards these issues and they have been accepted to get involve in a diplomatic activities, which would not been accepted in the traditional diplomacy. NGO's have not only been able to lobby governments but they have also been able to represent underdeveloped states in a multilateral venues, such as the Johannesburg summit, Copenhagen summit, etc. However, NGO's still play a limited role in shaping policies, but they have managed to put pressure on government about certain issues.

As mentioned above, it could be argued, that diplomacy has evolved dramatically in recent years. But on the other hand, it is seen , that the core elements of the traditional diplomacy are still very much intact. Bilateral diplomacy, associated with secrecy and lack of openness still exist. However, at the end of the day, secret or not, diplomacy is the only way international affairs are conducted. But what is the new about diplomacy, is the fact, that it does not longer serve the interest of the few, but is rather trying to work towards the common good.