Diplomacy & Peace

Diplomacy

Concept of war

= organized collective violence that affects either the relations between two or more societies or the power relations within a society

went from mainly interstate to irregular warfare = civil wars, terrorism, cyberwars…

for Aron → war is ruled by diplomatic choices (declarations, treaties)

Concept of peace

Defined by Maryam Bukar Hassan (Nigerian poet + UN Global Ambassador for peace) as

• the presence of understanding rather than the absence of war

• something that is not found but built, bricks bu brutal brick with hands that once knew how to fight but now choose to hold instead (choice)

Realist pov =

• positive peace is unrealistic and undesirable

• competition is natural

• negative peace (=absence of conflict) is the more natural state in an anarchical world

Liberal pov =

• diplomacy and IGO (interdependence) can achieve negative peace

• positive peace is the desired final state but requires concessions and reconciliations

Stages of peace

Peacemaking = to end a conflit + start if negative peace through negotiations and diplomacy

Peacekeeping = after a deal, between negative and positive peace, UN peacekeepers

Peacebuilding = rebuilding societies, maintaining positive peace

Bilateral diplomacy

= how 2 states peacefully interact with each other

states have diplomatic relations when they recognize the existence and sovereignty of the other

History of diplomacy

countries “sent” embassies to negotiate + diplomats were messengers and did not have a status → even more endangered

Renaissance = birth of permanent embassies (demand with constant interactions)

1815 = Vienna Congress

Mid 19th = first building for ministry in the field of diplomacy - le Quai d’Orsay

1961 = Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

Multilateral Diplomacy

The UN Security Council

Negotiations

3 pillars =

• timing

• leverage

• trust

Countries have =/ definitions of success in diplomacy → reaching an agreement for the Swiss vs sticking to their opinion for the French

Ripeness Theory

Mediation

Types of Peace Agreements

Low vs high context communication

Protocols and Rites

follow precedence = hierarchical order

Peaceful non-state actors in diplomacy

International companies

Track II diplomacy

What is soft power?

By Joseph Nye

• 1970s

The example of sport as soft power

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

What is cultural diplomacy?

a branch of public diplomacy

Role of the state in cultural diplomacy