POLI 212 Introduction to International Politics Session 3- Diplomacy in International Relations Lecturer: Dr. Bossman E. Asare [email protected]/[email protected] College of Education School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 – 2016/2017 Session Overview – Overview . In this session students will be introduced to diplomacy . Students will understand the different types of diplomacy . We will also look at the embassies and high commissions Slide 2 Session Outline The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows: • Topic One: Diplomacy • Topic Two: Diplomatic Missions Slide 3 Reading List • Bossman E. Asare, 2016. International Politics: The Beginner’s Guide- Updated and Expanded, Digibooks, Ghana. Read chapter 1 • Charles W. Kegley Jr. and Shannon L. Blanton, 2010. World Politics: Trend and Transformation, Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. Read chapter 1 Slide 4 Topic One DIPLOMACY Slide 5 DIPLOMACY • States in the global system interact on a number of levels. In the midst of wars and other conflicts they still try to engage in discussions and negotiations. Diplomacy is one of the central means used by countries to interact with one another. • Diplomacy primarily means the practice and process of conducting negotiations, holding discussions and meetings between accredited representatives of countries and intergovernmental organizations. Those who engage in diplomacy are called diplomats. • In a number of countries, there are two main ways to become a diplomat. There are career diplomats and those diplomats appointed by politicians. Career diplomats are those who work with the departments or ministries of foreign affairs of their countries and they rise through the ranks to become diplomats. Slide 6 DIPLOMACY (Contd.) • Those appointed by politicians often change with a change of government, but career diplomats rarely change with a change of government. • In many countries, to become a career foreign service officer or diplomat, one has to complete a bachelor’s degree and pass competitive examinations and/or interviews. • Diplomats enjoy diplomatic privileges in the countries where they are stationed. • These privileges are referred to as diplomatic immunity. • Diplomatic immunity means the privileges diplomats enjoy on the job. • Some of the privileges are that, diplomats are immune from criminal prosecution at their duty posts and they are recognized at important functions in the countries they serve. Slide 7 DIPLOMACY (Contd.) • Nonetheless, diplomats can be stripped of their immunity when they do things considered unacceptable by the countries where they are working and, at times, too by their own governments. • Some of these can be engaging in espionage activities. This is when diplomats spy on the countries where they are working and send a report to their home governments that these countries, for instance, are developing new weapons or engaging in certain activities that will affect the international community negatively, among others. • Once countries get to know that diplomats have sent reports like these outside, they can issue statements indicating that they do not want the diplomats in their countries anymore. The term used for this in international relations is persona non grata. Slide 8 DIPLOMACY (Contd.) • Persona non grata means the diplomat is not welcome in the country of duty. Persona grata means the diplomat is welcome in the country. • Other criminal activities such as money laundering and murder by diplomats could also lead to them being stripped of their immunity. • Diplomats can also be stripped of their immunities by their home governments especially when they do things abroad considered unacceptable by their countries. • A typical example is when they give certain important information about their countries to other countries. Slide 9 DIPLOMACY (Contd.) • In diplomacy, once a country declares that the envoys or diplomats from other countries are unwelcome, those countries often respond by declaring that some of their diplomats are also unwelcome in their countries. • During the presidency of George W. Bush in the United States in 2006, Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, expelled a US diplomat (John Correa, a naval attaché to the US Embassy in Venezuela) and the US responded swiftly by declaring that Jeny Figueredo Fias (the chief of staff to the Venezuelan Ambassador in the US) was persona non grata and she was given 72 hours to leave the country. Slide 10 Types of Diplomacy There are several types of diplomacy: • Standard diplomacy involves the interactions between governments and intergovernmental organizations at the highest levels. Usually you have presidents or other senior officials of countries and intergovernmental organizations engaging in discussions directed at addressing common problems or promoting international understanding between the parties involved in the discussions. • Bilateral diplomacy is the kind of diplomacy between only two countries. For instance, when accredited representatives or diplomats from Ghana engage in discussions or negotiations with their counterparts in Nigeria or Sierra Leone, this is bilateral diplomacy, because only two countries are involved. • Multilateral diplomacy involves at least three countries engaging in diplomacy. This means those engaged in this diplomacy could be as many as all the countries in the world. With this type of diplomacy, the representatives of the countries engaged in diplomacy are from different regions of the world. You are going to have some countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and others involved in multilateral diplomacy. Slide 11 Types of Diplomacy (Contd.) • Regional diplomacy is a type of multilateral diplomacy that takes place in a particular region of the world. The difference between regional diplomacy and multilateral diplomacy is that those involved in the latter come from different regions of the world, and for the former, the diplomats are from one or a particular region of the world. • So when three or four representatives of countries from Africa meet to discuss issues on African unity, trade in Africa and other topics, this becomes regional diplomacy because all the representatives are from a particular region of the world, which is Africa. Similarly, when members of the European Union or the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) hold discussions, it becomes regional diplomacy. Slide 12 Types of Diplomacy (Contd.) • Public diplomacy is concerned with the various strategies and ways used by countries and intergovernmental organizations to communicate directly to people of other countries rather than the politicians and the senior officials of countries. In public diplomacy, countries and intergovernmental organizations can use people who serve in official capacities or in unofficial capacities. • The United Nations and its specialized agencies have used individuals like Angelina Jolie and Mia Farrow (Hollywood Actresses), Wycliffe Jean (Musician), and George Oppong Weah (former world soccer player of the year) in public diplomacy and as Goodwill Ambassadors. Countries and intergovernmental organizations at times use movie stars and well-known athletes in public diplomacy. These stars often promote the good image of their countries and champion programs that are considered important by countries and intergovernmental organizations. Slide 13 Types of Diplomacy (Contd.) • Other types of diplomacy are gunboat, coercive and shuttle. Shuttle diplomacy is where a third party or country serves as a mediator between two parties who do not want to sit down and talk with each other. The job of the diplomat is to shuttle between the two parties to get them to normalize relationship. There have been instances where the United States and other intergovernmental organizations have sent diplomats to the Middle East to speak to Israeli government officials and Palestinian officials separately. • The main objective of this type of diplomacy is to get the two parties on the discussion table and to restore diplomatic relations between them. Gunboat diplomacy is when countries display their military might in the pursuance of their foreign policy. Here countries tell those countries that are the focus of their foreign policies that if they do not follow certain directives, they would be attacked. • This is a direct threat and countries are expected to comply in order to avoid any military intervention. This type of diplomacy was widely used by the great powers before World War II and during the Cold War. The United States’ military interventions of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003, respectively fit this type of diplomacy. Slide 14 Types of Diplomacy (Contd.) • Coercive diplomacy is when countries threaten or force other countries to follow certain foreign policy directives. • Unlike gunboat diplomacy, where military power is displayed so that parties or countries that do not yield are attacked, with coercive diplomacy, countries are more likely to impose economic sanctions rather than military intervention. Military intervention is usually a last resort in coercive diplomacy. Slide 15 Sample questions • Identify and explain any three types of diplomacy. • Discuss any two importance of diplomacy. • What are diplomatic privileges? Slide 16 Topic Two DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS Slide 17 Diplomatic Missions • Diplomatic missions are a group of people from one country who work in another country on behalf of their country. Countries that are members of the United Nations have diplomatic missions