Contemporary diplomacy

The term ‘contemporary diplomacy’ describes the methods and tactics countries and other international groups use to promote their interests and carry out their foreign policy goals. The changes in diplomatic practice are influenced by a number of factors, such as globalization, technical advancements, and shifting geopolitical relations.

Contemporary diplomacy implies the use of modern tools in the field of information and communication technologies. Through its use, diplomats are enabled to act promptly according to the goals of interest and to have access to a wide range of information and documents.

The increasing influence of non-state players in influencing international relations, including NGOs, civil society organizations, and multinational companies, is another characteristic of contemporary diplomacy. To accomplish their goals, diplomats must now interact with a broader variety of stakeholders, and they frequently need to collaborate across industries to handle difficult global issues.

Contemporary diplomatic action is more than ever oriented towards multilateral questions and issues that were not so present in the past and today emerge as the key questions like environment and climate change, migration, human rights, the rule of law, etc.

From our blog

Training and courses

Resources

2018

European Union external action structure: Beyond state and intergovernmental organisations diplomacy

This dissertation analyses the organisation of the external action structures of the European Union. As an international actor which is beyond a state, but also different to traditional international organisations, the EU has created a “diplomatic constellation” ... Read more...

2018

Assessing feasibility for a binding international legal instrument on cyberweapons: A maturity model approach

Cyberwarfare has emerged from the expeditious expansion of the Internet as a new mode of conflict that can anonymously and remotely disrupt the core functions of a state.... Read more...

2017

The birth and the existence of Lesotho: A diplomatic lesson

The dissertation will focus on the birth and present state of existence of Lesotho, as a nation state, a state inside another state, looking at how diplomacy is at the centre of all this. The research will examine the history of South Africa and the events that led to ... Read more...

2017

Barriers to conflict resolution in Africa: Mediating beyond power and ethnicity in the EAC and SADC countries through a Kenyan case study

This paper assesses the relevance of ethnicity and power in conflicts occurring in the EAC and SADC regions through a case study of Kenya. It engages with elites’ power contestation and the manner in which power has historically caused violence and instability in Ken... Read more...

2017

Data Diplomacy: Mapping the Field

The adoption of open data policies and the standardization of data collection were among the recommendations made during DiploFoundation's Data Diplomacy Roundtable: Mapping the Field, a brainstorming event that took place on 5 April 2017 – on the role of (big) data ... Read more...

2016

Diplomacy at the Cutting Edge

I started writing a memoire in 1998, but on a long train journey in Germany (Stuttgart to Essen), accompanied by my wonderful wife Mimi, a thought came that it might be much more interesting to write about how the Indian diplomatic system works – or does not really w... Read more...

2015

Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, Fifth Edition

In 2005, I reviewed the third edition of Diplomacy: Theory and Practice by G.R. Berridge as essential reading for Robinson Crusoe, had he been a student of diplomacy. We all know that eventually Crusoe ended his assignment on the foreign island and returned to his nati... Read more...

2014

Hands on digital diplomacy

The text "Hands on digital diplomacy" suggests a practical approach to engaging in diplomatic efforts using digital tools and platforms.... Read more...