Unit 5: Instruments and Institutions of Modern Diplomacy

Introduction

Diplomatic instruments can be classified as bilateral diplomacy, multilateral diplomacy and summit diplomacy.

Diplomatic institutions can be broadly divided into three categories: ministry of foreign affairs, diplomatic missions and non-state actors.

Origins and Evolution of Modern Diplomacy

Origins of modern diplomacy date back to Italian city states in the 14th century. The basic reasons for the need to establish diplomatic relations between Italian city states were

• the limited amount of lands to rule
• solving their problems via alternative ways other than war
• the lack of outside pressure
• freedom of the states to conduct closer relations.

Venice was the forerunner of the formation of modern diplomacy process and the main objectives of its rulers were self-preservation and development of their state and the dynamics of the diplomatic instruments and institutions were not religion or morals but more practical ones.

Renaissance, Reformation, Westphalia Treaty (1648), Concert of Europe (1815), League of Nations (1919) and the Great Depression (late 1920s) have important roles in the formation of modern diplomacy.

Concert of Europe : It is a system established in Europe with the Vienna Congress on the basis of balance of power strategy to protect status quo after Napoleonic Wars between 1800 and 1815. In the early 1800s, France under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte, who had declared his empire with the fall of Republican regime in France, was fighting with certain European states in order to expand its territories especially eastwards. With the defeat of Napoleon in Russia and Great Britain, European states decided to establish such a system in order to prevent the birth and rule of Napoleon-like figures and states. Concert of Europe system worked until the First World War (WWI) despite some regional conflicts and wars. However, with the polarization in the early 1900s, this system was replaced by alliances and divisions that paved the way for WWI

The destruction of WWII and the Cold War forced states to find solutions to international problems through diplomatic channels. Diplomatic institutions and instruments have been professionalized since the beginning of the Cold War with the unprecedented development of globalization. Bilateral and multilateral negotiations and summits have jointly become the platform of inter-state relations. Institutionally, ministries of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic missions are still basic institutions of diplomacy. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Multi-National Companies (MNCs) have become essential parts of diplomacy in the global age.

Instruments of Modern Diplomacy

Modern diplomacy is conducted through three main instruments: bilateral diplomacy, multilateral diplomacy and summit diplomacy.

Bilateral Diplomacy : Bilateral diplomacy is the oldest form of diplomatic practice consisting of two states meeting to solve their problems. s origins date back to ancient Greece, but after the 14th century, it was professionalized by the Italian city states. Especially, after the formation of modern states in the 17th century, bilateral diplomacy became widespread starting from Europe. The French Revolution was a turning point in the evolution of bilateral diplomacy because secular nation states began to form and diplomacy became the main tool in conducting inter-state relations. Until the end of WWI, bilateral diplomacy kept its hegemony in the international relations. With WWI, multilateral diplomacy was introduced although there were some examples of it in the 19th century like the Vienna Congress in 1815 and Berlin Congress in 1878.

Bilateral diplomacy is conducted between two states, but, initially, these two states have to recognize each other to establish diplomatic missions and carry out diplomatic practice. Recognition means the acceptance of the existence of a state as an independent and sovereign entity in the international arena. Recognition consists two rights of a state: domestically it has to enjoy full sovereignty over its territories, internationally it has to be independent from any other state. Moreover, membership to the 0 (UN) is another criterion for recognition. According to the second article of the Vienna Convention, which was accepted in 1961 and determines the rules, instruments and institutions of diplomacy, diplomatic relations between states have to be based on “ mutual consent .” Recognition is a part of “mutual consent”, but recognition and diplomacy do not always go hand-in-hand. More clearly, states may recognize each other, but not carry out diplomatic relations. there are two types of recognition: de jure and de facto . De jure recognition means recognizing a state with all legal results and conducting diplomatic relations with this state. On the contrary, in de facto a state accepts the existence of another state as a separate entity, but refrains from conducting diplomatic relations which may have legal results.

Multilateral Diplomacy : Multilateral diplomacy is literally defined as diplomatic relations between more than two states. It is also known as “conference diplomacy” or “parliamentary diplomacy” because multilateral diplomatic relations are mainly conducted through conferences and face-to-face interaction between leaders or missions of states. Its origins go back to Vienna Congress convened in 1815 after Napoleonic Wars when European powers came up with the idea of balance of power strategy which sustained peace in Europe until WWI. Multilateral diplomacy became popular in the 20th century because problems between states turned into global problems such as peace and security, environment, health, migration, etc. and international actors understood that such problems had to be negotiated and solved through multilateral diplomacy. The rise of democracy and its ideals after WWII resulted in the democratization of diplomacy and diplomatic practices.

There are many advantages of multilateral conferences like focusing on specific issues and motivating the parties to find a solution or reach an agreement in a limited period of time. As a result of collaboration among participants, it develops closer relations between states. Finding a solution or reaching an agreement is beneficial for all parties because it increases their prestige and popularity. Due to the limited period of time, multilateral conferences force parties to focus on specific issues and come up with solutions. On the contrary, states not joining these multilateral entities may lose their prestige and the right to have a say in ultimate decisions.

Consequently, multilateral diplomacy has several advantages and it is a common tool of diplomacy today. It is mainly conducted under the umbrella of multilateral organizations flourished in the second half of the 20th century such as UN, NATO, NAFTA and ASEAN.

United Nations was established to consolidate democratic ideals of the Allies, to protect world peace and collective security, to sustain economic development and to find solutions to global problems. It was established by 51 states, but today it has 193 members. (www.un.org) UN consists of six main bodies: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat. Except International Court of Justice in Hague, other bodies of UN are in New York.

United Nations : This institution was created by the victorious states of WWII which defeated Fascism and its expansionist policies. Main actors in the UN are the United States, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), the Great Britain, France and China. The basic objective of the UN is to protect sovereignty of its member states and world peace. However, when the crises and regional wars in the world since its establishment are taken into consideration, it can be securely argued that the UN has reached its aims far from ideally. This stems from its internal problems like the veto rights of the permanent members of the Security Council. (five states stated above) Especially during the Cold War, it became a leverage between superpowers to legitimize their actions and put pressure on each other. Today, the UN has about two hundred members and it has various branches like UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund), UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), WFP (World Food Programme), etc. dealing with certain world problems.

Major functional bodies of the UN are General Assembly and Security Council. General Assembly comprises of all UN members and each state has one vote for the decisions. Security Council mainly deals with issues related to international peace and security such as “maintaining international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations.

Instruments of multilateral diplomacy are not limited to this global organization. International-regional organizations and functional organizations are other instruments of multilateral diplomacy and they are categorized in terms of their missions, functions and the level of cooperation among its members.

Global and international-regional organizations, ad hoc meetings are instruments of multilateral diplomacy. Ad hoc meetings can be divided into two groups: meetings about issues threatening peace and security and meetings about technical issues. Meetings on peace and security are primarily organized by international or regional powers.

Procedures of negotiations in multilateral organizations and meetings are different from bilateral meetings in the sense that bilateral negotiations are based on rules and procedures jointly decided by the parties before or during the meeting. On the other hand, multilateral negotiations are carried out on the basis of procedures written on the charter or covenant of the organization.

Multilateral diplomacy can be regarded as a diplomatic instrument allowing more states than bilateral and summit diplomacies to participate in decision making mechanisms of global or regional issues.

Summit Diplomacy : Summit diplomacy traces back to Middle Ages when the territories of monarchs were regarded as their own properties. In order to solve their problems or develop their relations, monarchs were meeting regularly. (İskit, 334-335) With the formation of modern nation states, the decline of monarchies and the establishment of modern diplomatic missions, diplomatic practices began to be carried out by professionals. However, WWI was a turning point in the rise of summit diplomacy as a result the decrease in trust to professional diplomats due to their inability to prevent such a global war and summit diplomacy became widespread. During the Paris Conference right after the war, heads of the allied states’ governments dominated the agenda and developments.

Summit diplomacy has the advantage some disadvantages.

• They have symbolic power as the meeting of heads of states which enable them to use these summits as their propaganda tools to maximize the interests of their states.
• Presidents or prime ministers are ultimate authorities in the decision making mechanism, so revision of their decisions in summits are difficult to change.
• The lack of a changing mechanism for their decisions is a problem because generally leaders don’t know details of policies.
• They may have some positive or negative biases misleading their opinions and decisions about their counterparts.
• The personal problems or biases may cause some problems and crises.
• Leaders may have close relations with their counterparts which may cause the ignorance of national interests and they may make some decisions or treaties conflicting their state’s interests.

Summits can be categorized into three groups:

Regular summits : They provide basis for negotiations, but their success is based on the frequency and duration. Regular meetings allow leaders to prepare before sessions and learn details of issues discussed in these meetings as well as characteristics and tendencies of their counterparts. In order to reach conclusions satisfactory for both sides, leaders push hard for succeed in these summits, so the “diplomatic momentum” between two summits continues. Regular meetings of European Union (EU) leaders are important examples of these meetings.

Ad hoc summit : They are convened to solve specific problems or discuss specific issues as well as to create diplomatic momentum. Main objective of an ad hoc summit is to create a symbolic milestone for solution of a specific problem between states.

High-level meetings : They can be defined as meetings of leaders within the context of their official visits. Especially, newly elected leaders visit foreign countries and meet their counterparts. Such visits provide information about policies and characteristics and opinions of their counterparts. In addition, leaders aim at developing friendly relations and economic relations with the host country.

NGO :These are non-profit, voluntary citizens’ organizations acting on national, regional or international levels out of the jurisdiction of states. They provide monitoring for the implementation of decisions and treaties on various issues ranging from environment to human rights.

Instutions of Modern Diplomacy

States are still major actors of diplomacy despite erosion of their jurisdiction as a result of globalization. In addition, they establish two main institutions to carry out their diplomatic activities: ministry of foreign affairs and diplomatic missions working under the control of these ministerial structures.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs :Ministry of foreign affairs is the main body in the state apparatus responsible for the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. It consists of the ministerial structure and diplomatic missions. The first ministry of foreign affairs in today’s understanding was established in France in the 1620s by Cardinal Richelieu after three centuries from the establishment of modern diplomatic missions.

With the acceleration of globalization in the second half of the 20th century and the diversification of issues in foreign relations heavily influenced the monopoly of ministry. As summit diplomacy and direct contact between heads of governments became widespread and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational companies (MNCs) took part in foreign relations, ministry lost its monopoly in the foreign policy.

Today, ministry of foreign affairs is mainly responsible for the coordination of foreign policy rather than formulation and implementation of foreign policy only by itself. ministry of foreign affairs is responsible for establishment of diplomatic missions in foreign countries as well as recruitment and training of diplomatic personnel. In addition, it is responsible for appointment and settlement of the diplomatic personnel as well as buying or renting, protecting and maintaining assets of diplomatic missions in foreign countries. Therefore, there are several branches responsible for such activities in ministry of foreign affairs. Functions of ministry is not limited to the implementation of foreign policy and establishment of diplomatic missions. It also gives consultation to statesmen and conducts relations with the diplomats of foreign countries. More importantly, ministry is responsible for the promotion and propaganda abroad on behalf of the state. (İskit, 344-345)

Diplomatic Missions :Diplomatic missions are main components of diplomacy acting on behalf of their state in the state they are accredited to. Origins of diplomatic missions go back to ad hoc diplomacy period in which states were conducting foreign relations through temporary missions and envoys rather than establishing resident embassies. Ad hoc diplomacy was replaced by permanent diplomacy and its instruments and institutions as modern states began to form especially after the 14th century starting with Italy. Functions of diplomatic missions evolved in time as dynamics, instruments and institutions of diplomacy changed. Today, there are different levels of diplomatic representation and diplomatic missions have several functions and immunities. Definitions, functions and immunities of diplomatic missions and diplomats were specified and systematized by UN with the Vienna Convention, consisting 53 articles, in 1961. Rules and principles of Vienna Convention are still valid and constitute the basis of diplomatic relations.

The 1st article of the convention defines diplomatic personnel. Diplomatic personnel have several ranks and consist of both diplomatic agents and technical staff. Like diplomatic personnel, there are three types of heads of diplomatic mission: ambassadors or nuncios; envoys, ministers or internuncios and chargés d’affaires.

According to the 2nd Article of the convention, diplomatic relations between two states are established by mutual consent. In other words, two states have to be willing to conduct diplomatic relations.

The 3rd article of Vienna Convention defines the functions of diplomatic missions . Accordingly, diplomatic missions are responsible for “representing the sending State in the receiving State; protecting the interests of the sending State and its nationals in the receiving State within the limits of the international law; negotiating with the Government of the receiving State on behalf of his government; ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving State, and reporting to his government; promoting friendly relations between the sending State and the receiving State, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations.” Duties specified in the convention are similar to the functions of envoys or agents of ad hoc diplomacy. However, as international relations diversified, functions of diplomatic missions got more complex.

The 4 ^th article explains the procedure about agreement and the refusal of it. On a diplomatic mission The sending state of the two has to take the approval of the receiving state through agrément for the person accredited to the receiving state. On the other hand, the receiving state is not obliged to make an explanation in case of the refusal of agrément .

According to the 9 ^th article of the Vienna Convention, the receiving state has the right to declare the head of mission or a member of diplomatic staff as persona non grata (unwanted person) in any time and without an obligation to make an explanation. In such cases, the sending state has to recall this person or terminate his functions in the mission.

According to the 10th Article of the convention, the ministry is responsible for “the appointment of members of the mission, their arrival and their final departure or the termination of their functions with the mission; the arrival and final departure of a person belonging to the family of a member of the mission and, where appropriate, the fact that a person becomes or ceases to be a member of the family of a member of the mission; the arrival and final departure of private servants in the employ of persons referred to in subparagraph (a) and, where appropriate, the fact that they are leaving the employ of such persons; the engagement and discharge of people resident in the receiving State as members of the mission or private servants entitled to privileges and immunities.”

Diplomatic missions and diplomats act under the protection of immunities granted by the Vienna Convention. There are two types of immunities: immunities of missions and immunities of diplomats.

Articles 22nd to 28th regulate immunities of diplomatic missions. In accordance with these articles, “the premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission”. More importantly, it is the responsibility of the receiving state to protect the premises of the diplomatic mission.

Like diplomatic missions, diplomats have certain immunities and exemptions. The receiving state is responsible for protecting his inviolable immunities, freedom and dignity. As article 29 indicates, under normal conditions, diplomats cannot be arrested or detained.

According to article 31, if a diplomat is involved in “a real action relating to private immovable property situated in the territory of the receiving State, unless he holds it on behalf of the sending State for the purposes of the mission; an action relating to succession in which the diplomatic agent is involved as executor, administrator, heir or legatee as a private person and not on behalf of the sending State; an action relating to any professional or commercial activity exercised by the diplomatic agent in the receiving State outside his official functions.”

Articles 34 to 36 clearly state that diplomats are exempt from all personal, municipal, regional and national taxes except some of them.

The rest of the articles explain the limits of the immunities and exemptions granted by the Vienna Convention.

Non-State Actors : As a result of globalization process, new actors emerged such as NGOs and MNCs and the role of these actors in international relations is regularly increasing. NGOs are non-governmental and non-profit organizations interested in global problems such as global warming, pollution, human rights, children’s rights, health problems, refugees and so on. Human Rights Watch (WHR), Geenpeace, Doctors without Borders are influential examples.

Globalization resulted in transformation of rules and tools of world economy. Free flow of goods and capital through certain channels created some companies called MNCs eroding the jurisdiction of many states. For example, giant companies like Apple, Microsoft, Cargill and General Motors are controlling bigger budgets than many states around the world. Moreover, these companies are not managed only from its headquarters, but dispersed their power to different branches in many countries. Therefore, they are not easily controlled by nation states due to the flexibility of their structures. On the other hand, they are binding different states through economic activities.