The most important factor to consider when looking at new diplomacy is that the world we live in now is very different to the one there was especially prior to the end of the Cold War. There has been a rapid advance in technological development and communication enabling the world to come together as a global village. This development has had an impact on the conduct of diplomatic practices. What once used to be traditional diplomacy that was largely conducted bilaterally between two nation states has opened up to a wider arena of diplomatic practice. There are many different influential non state actors in the diplomatic field with considerable with considerable influence alongside the fact that nation states are increasing their participation in multilateral relationships.
An example of the change in diplomatic practice in the European Union; in the post cold war world this Union has enabled the smaller and weaker neighbouring countries to come together in order to form and establish a stronger role on the world stage in facing the challenges that a globalised world faces such as climate change. The union together has many other benefits, of which the biggest one is the economic benefit.
There are many NGOs and other non governmental institutions that have considerable power and impact. An example of an area whereby there have been non-governmental organisations have been effective alongside governments is the Marine Strategy Directive set up to save Europe’s seas and oceans. This directive has been established with the help of both governmental organisations working alongside non-governmental organisations that have expertise in this area.
I agree with your point Zen that the international system changes and there are number of issues that require states to cooperate together. However I disagree on one point regarding NGOs. You wrote that they have 'considerable power' and I would argue that even though they became important in the state centric order of international relations, they don't have the power yet. They still have to act together with or through governments to be able to achieve their goals. They still have to deploy different methods to get support (i.e. mobilize people) and one of the important among them would be access to government.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you there, but their role is to work with states rather than making changes and executing policies for themselves. In my opinion that is as much as power as they can get when they influence states into taking on board what it is they advocate. NGOs are very limited in their approach because they take into consideration and concentrate on the area they were set up for. On the other hand, nation states must take into consideration the wider interest of the nation state.
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