Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Image Source: Flickr –Crls (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Category: Diplomacy (Page 2 of 5)
The largest change brought by social media has been the possibility of access to information. Vietnam, often called the ‘living room war,’ was the first war broadcast into our homes through our TVs. Many antiwar movements claimed that this mediatization helped fuel the movement and ultimately helped end the war. The advent of social media imposes to put the question: what is social media’s role and influence on war and conflict?
The answer, according to Sarah Jones author of this article, is digital diplomacy, disruption, hashtag revolutions/movements, and what I call iWars.
Sarah Jones defines the Digital diplomacy as “the communication and management of international relations in the digital sphere”.
In today’s world, foreign ministries, governments, politicians, and candidates around the world are actively trying to develop digital strategies. Some use them to threaten the enemy. Others to speak and to be heard. Others to monitor. Others to recruit. Few of them use them for the purpose they were intended: to answer people concerns.
The author of this article, Sarah Jones, selected in 2016 as one of the top one thousand most influential Twitter profiles from across the worlds of marketing, advertising, digital and media by The Drum, IBM’s Watson and Twitter, spoke about the impact of social media on war following the invitation of the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
To read more about this topic, read here the full article.
Image source: Flickr – Khalld Albalh (CC-BY 2.0)
In order to be a diplomat one must speak a number of languages, including double-talk. Will Durant
Image source: Flickr – Instanbul-Daki Yunanistan (CC- BY – SA 2.0)
Negotiation means getting the best of your opponent. Marvin Gaye
Image source: Wikipedia – Creative Commons
During a demanding negotiation, when interests at stake are radically divergent and it seems that there is no more room for the dialogue, a radical shift in the approach to the pourparler could be the turning point of the whole negotiation, even in case of major discussions over national interests, such as the controversial right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to carry on the uranium enrichment process started in 2006.
In effect, this article highlights how a radical shift of the Iranian negotiators’ approach to the nuclear dossier, which opposed the Islamic Republic to the international community, led to the signature of the so-called Vienna Agreement in July 2015.
By shunning the bombastic and confrontational language that had become the hallmark of the Islamic Republic’s officials, Mr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian Foreign Minister and chief of the Iranian delegation, build up a personal relation with foreign diplomats thanks to his easy smile and mastery of English.
In conclusion, when the negotiation is stuck and all options seem inconsistent, a “smile” approach to the negotiation could be more useful than a simple force demonstration, and, in some cases, it could even bring to make an agreement over a nuclear issue possible.
Image source: Flickr – wewiorka_wagner (CC BY-SA 2.0)
It is not a matter of what is true that counts, but a matter of what is perceived to be true. Henry Kissinger
Image source: Flickr – Riccardo Romano (CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0)
In his TEDx talk (TEDxBari 2015) Stefano Baldi, career diplomat, explains why diplomats maintain an important role even after many changes that have affected International relations. Despite some “Cassandras” that have in the past foreseen the end of Diplomacy, the activities performed by diplomats continue to be particularly relevant. Diplomats have always shown a great adaptability to new tools and to changing conditions.
Stefano Baldi at TEDxBari – Why diplomats will never disappear from Stefano Baldi on Vimeo.
Quick Diplomatic Response is one of the few existing comic books on diplomatic activities. This booklet was written by Jovan Kurbalija, illustrated by Vladimir Veljasevic and published by Diplofoundation in 2007. It can be consulted here.
This comic book aims to explain the crucial role of diplomacy in the contemporary world. It also shows how diplomacy can be improved through the use of modern tools and approaches.
