Ancient China can be categorized under two different periods regarding the political structure of the time. The first is the Warring States Era between 656-221 BCE, characterized by the emergence of sovereign states. It was a period of a balance of a power system, so international relations was based on great power rivalry and ephemeral alliances (Hamilton, 1995:12). The Great Powers had leagues, missions and an organized system of correspondence between their many warring states. It is not surprising that Sun-Tzu, one of the best known military strategists, and his thoughts were influential at this period. Early records indicate that Sun-Tzu lived in the Warring state era and his very famous work The Art of War was influenced by the increasing violence of this era. In contrast to its name, the book does not really focus on war time strategies, but on strategies that would prevent the outbreak of war. The core of the strategy for Sun Tzu is not to defeat the enemy in battle, but to repress him without fighting. Sun Tzu therefore focuses on the pre-war period as the realm for strategy and hence pays particular attention to diplomacy at this stage. Sun-Tzu makes a number of suggestions for the use of diplomacy mostly before the war, but even usable during and after the war, all of which seem to be very important to be a good diplomacy player in international relations. He first advices to attack the enemy’s strategy before attacking the enemy itself. He then mentions indirect methods for manipulating the enemy’s actions in order to keep away the danger of being attacked. Another strategy Sun-Tzu suggests is to be flexible in strategy in regard to changing circumstances (Szykman, 1995). 

Diplomacy according to Machiavelli is based on deception. This assumption of diplomacy is closely related to Machiavelli’s conception of human nature which he defines as “For it can be said about men in general that they are ungrateful, fickle, dissembling, hypocritical, cowardly, and greedy.” Therefore the diplomat can use deceptions, tricks and schemes in order to maximise the state’s interest in its relations with other states. The correct answer is E.

Initially, German, Polish, Greek and Armenian translators were working in the office, whereas after Mahmud II, the empire favored Turkish people in this institution. The correct answer is D.

Coercive diplomacy defines the use of limited force or the threat of using force in diplomatic relations, with the aim of achieving desired ends. The correct answer is C.

The common language that is shared by all these small city states served as another facilitator for diplomatic progress in the region. Despite the lack of a political unity among the city states, there was a linguistic unity among them. Italian, being the lingua franca in the Peninsula, was accepted as the common language for any form of correspondence among the city states. This became an asset for the facilitation of dialogue and prepared the ground for diplomatic interactions to become an effective tool in the interstate affairs.

Ad Hoc Diplomacy

It was the diplomatic system adapted by the states before the establishment of modern, permanent diplomacy in the 14th and 15th centuries. States were sending temporary representatives or missionaries to each other for specific missions. For the solution of problems, signing treaties, declaring their war or peace decisions, etc. rulers were sending their representatives. After the formation of modern diplomacy, states began to adapt professional and permanent institutions and instruments. The Ottoman Empire used ad hoc diplomacy until the end of 18th century. The reign of Selim III, who was closely following the developments in Europe, was a turning point in the adaptation of modern diplomacy. Especially with Mahmud II, the Ottoman Empire began to adapt the rules and institutions of modern diplomacy despite some shortcomings. 

The Enemy of My Enemy is my Friend Kautilya is most famous for outlining the foreign policy principle of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” which can clearly be seen in his following words; “Your neighbor is not a candidate for alliance, only enemies of a neighboring country shall be allies of the country” The correct answer is A.

Although Greece is accepted as the birthplace of Western civilization, diplomacy was not born in Greece in contrast to what is widely thought. Diplomacy was born thousands of years before ancient Greece committed to diplomacy as a civilization. Nevertheless, the word “diplomacy” is itself borrowed from ancient Greek. It is derived from the word “diploma” meaning two fold. In the Roman Empire, the word was used to describe the passes, comparable to the modern day passport, which were stamped on metal plates. This word was later extended to cover other metallic documents, especially those embodying arrangements with foreign communities

The first system of city-states occurred in Mesopotamia between the 4th and the first millennium. The system was mainly based on that of the Sumerians in the south, Babylonian and Akadian in the center and Assyrians in the north.

Sumerians were the earliest practitioners of diplomacy (3000-2370 BCE). The diplomatic tradition emerged from this site mainly because the Sumerians were the civilization which invented writing sometime in the 4th millennium BCE. In the meantime, Sumeria was the site of the first urban communities consisted of complex social, economic and political structures each of which was ruled by an independent King.

The features of the first exchange systems of organized polities resemble in many ways the diplomacy as we now understand. They were conducted by envoys in a formal framework of law; and they were based upon the principles of reciprocity. With the emergence of the state system, the methods of diplomacy were transformed from primitive courses into trade agreements, dynastic marriages, and military alliances.

Diplomacy was used by Sumerians with a motivation to end conflicts through the conventional method of sending messengers with the messages written on clay tablets in cuneiform. Sumerian was used as the lingua franca of diplomacy until the Akhadian hegemony was established in the region.

The correct answer is Choice E.