The Hague Journal of Diplomacy 13 (2018) 545-571 brill.com/hjd Adapting Dynamically to Change in Diplomacy: A Comparative Look at Special Envoys in the International Arena Francesco Morini Department of European Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University, 6211 SZ Maastricht, the Netherlands
[email protected] Received: 5 March 2018; revised: 27 June 2018; accepted: 17 August 2018 Summary This article provides a comparative overview of the main features of special envoys/ representatives dispatched by major foreign-policy players. It underlines the relevance of this instrument within a fast-changing diplomatic environment, characterized by increasingly numerous actors, evolving practices and complex processes that require a flexible approach. The analysis draws on nearly 650 cases of special envoys appointed by national administrations and international organizations over the span of 25 years, exposing commonalities and differences in the use of a long-standing diplomatic tool. The article argues that the incremental employment of ad-hoc envoys, mandated to deal with issues of a geographical or thematic nature, signals the ambition of indi- vidual actors to achieve specific policy objectives on a crowded global stage. In this perspective, and in keeping with their role of precursors in diplomatic practice, special envoys constitute a versatile resource with boundless potential in terms of adaptation to an ever-expanding diplomatic agenda. Keywords envoys − representatives − foreign-policy structures − United Nations P5 − international and regional organizations © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi:10.1163/1871191X-13041002Downloaded from Brill.com09/27/2021 01:23:02PM via free access 546 Morini Introduction Defining contemporary diplomacy is not a straightforward exercise.