Diplomacy - Part 3

 
 
Diplomatic Resolution of Problems
 

Various processes and procedures have evolved over time for handling diplomatic issues and disputes.

 

Arbitration and Mediations

Nations sometimes resort to international arbitration when faced with a specific question or point of contention in need of resolution. For most of history, there were no official or formal procedures for such proceedings. They were generally accepted to abide by general principles and protocols related to international law and justice.
 
Sometimes these took the form of formal arbitrations and mediations. In such cases a commission of diplomats might be convened to hear all sides of an issue, and to come some sort of ruling based on international law.
 
In the modern era, much of this work is often carried out by the International Court of Justice at the Hague, or other formal commissions, agencies and tribunals, working under the United Nations. Below are some examples.
 

Hay-Herbert Treaty Enacted after the United States and Britain submitted a dispute to international mediation about the US-Canadian border.

 

International Conferences
 
Other times, resolutions were sought through the convening of international conferences. In such cases, there are fewer ground rules, and fewer formal applications of international law. However, participants are expected to guide themselves through principles of international fairness, logic, and protocol.
 
Some examples of these formal conferences are:
 
Congress of Vienna (1815) - After Napoleon was defeated, there were many diplomatic questions waiting to be resolved. This included the shape of the map of Europe, the disposition of political and nationalist claims of various ethnic groups and nationalities wishing to have some political autonomy, and the resolution of various claims by various European powers.

The Congress of Berlin (June 13 - July 13, 1878) was a meeting of the European Great Powers and the Ottoman Empires leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78, the aim of the meeting was to reorganize conditions in the Balkans.
 

Negotiations
 
Sometimes nations convene official negotiation processes to settle an issue or dispute between several nations which are parties to a dispute. These are similar to the conferences mentioned above, as there are technically no established rules or procedures. However, there are general principles and precedents which help define a course for such proceedings.
 
Some examples are:
 
Camp David accord Convened in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter of the United States, at Camp David to reach an agreement between Prime Minister Mechaem Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt. After weeks of negotiation, agreement was reached and the accords were signed, later leading directly to the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979.
 

The Treaty of Portsmouth was enacted after President Theodore Roosevelt brought together the delegates from Russia and Japan to settle the Russo-Japanese War. Personal intervention by President Roosevelt settled the conflict and caused him to win the Nobel peace prize.

 

Diplomatic Recognition
 
Diplomatic recognition is an important factor in determining whether a nation is an independent state. Receiving recognition is often difficult, even for countries which are fully sovereign. For many decades after becoming independent, even many of the closest allies of the Dutch Republic refused to grant it full recognition. Today there are a number of independent entities without widespread diplomatic recognition, most notably the Republic of China on Taiwan. Since the 1970s, most nations have stopped officially recognizing the ROCs existence on Taiwan, at the insistence of the Peoples Republic of China. Currently, the United States and other nations maintain informal relations through de facto embassies, with names such as the American Institute in Taiwan. Similarly, Taiwans de facto embassies abroad are known by names such as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office. This was not always the case, with the US maintaining official diplomatic ties with the ROC, recognizing it as the sole and legitimate government of all of China until 1979, when these relations were broken off as a condition for establishing official relations with Communist China.
 
The Palestinian National Authority has its own diplomatic service, however Palestinian representatives in most Western countries are not accorded diplomatic immunity, and their missions are referred to as Delegations General.
 
Other unrecognized countries include Abkhazia, Transnistria, Somaliland, South Ossetia, Nagorno Karabakh, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Lacking the economic and political importance of Taiwan, these nations tend to be much more diplomatically isolated.
 

Though used as a factor in judging sovereignty, Article 3 of the Montevideo Convention states, "The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by other states."

 

Informal Diplomacy
 
Informal diplomacy (sometimes called Track II diplomacy) has been used for centuries to communicate between powers. Most diplomats work to recruit figures in other nations who might be able to give informal access to a countrys leadership. In some situations, such as between the United States and the Peoples Republic of China a large amount of diplomacy is done through semi-formal channels using interlocutors such as academic members of thinktanks. This occurs in situations where governments wish to express intentions or to suggest methods of resolving a diplomatic situation, but do not wish to express a formal position.
 

Track II diplomacy is a specific kind of informal diplomacy, in which non-officials (academic scholars, retired civil and military officials, public figures, social activists) engage in dialogue, with the aim of conflict resolution, or confidence-building. Sometimes governments may fund such Track II exchanges. Sometimes the exchanges may have no connection at all with governments, or may even act in defiance of governments; such exchanges are called Track III.

 

Paradiplomacy
 

Paradiplomacy refers to the international relations conducted by subnational, regional, local or non-central governments. The most ordinary case of paradiplomatic relation refer to co-operation between bordering political entities. However, interest of federal states, provinces, regions etc., may extend over to different regions or to issues gathering local governments in multilateral fora worldwide. Some non-central governments may be allowed to negotiate and enter into agreement with foreign central states.

 

Cultural Diplomacy
 
Cultural diplomacy is a part of diplomacy. It alludes to a new way of making diplomacy by involving new non governmental and non professional actors in the making of diplomacy. In the frame of globalization, culture plays a major role in the definition of identity and in the relations between people. Joseph Nye points out the importance of having a soft power besides a hard power. When classical diplomacy fails, a better knowledge can help bridging the gap between different cultures. Cultural diplomacy becomes a subject of academic studies based on historical essays on the United States, Europe, and the Cold War.
 
 
Diplomatic Training Institutions
 
  • International Forum on Diplomatic Training
  • Foreign Service Institute India
  • Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
  • International School of Geneva
  • Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations
  • United Nations International School of Hanoi
  • United Nations International School
  • University for Peace
  • Vienna International School
  • Moscow State Institute of International Relations
  • MRI - Master in Relazioni Internazionali - MA supported by the Italian Diplomatic Institute
  • Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
  • Royal United Services Institute
  • School of International Service
  • Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
  • Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
  • Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
  • Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, New Jersey
  • Instituto Rio Branco - Diplomatic school of the Brazilian Government
  • Instituto del Servicio Exterior de la Nacion - Diplomatic Academy of the Argentina Republic
  • The George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC) - the United States Government primary diplomatic training facility
  • Instituto Matías Romero, Mexico City
  • John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations http://diplomacy.shu.edu, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey
  • DiploFoundation Malta and Geneva, offers 10-week distance learning courses, as also a Masters in Contemporary Diplomacy, recognized in Europe
 
Note: The information for this article on Diplomacy is from Wikipedia
 

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