Amid the tumult of our times, diplomacy is more important than ever. It is the skill that helps us build bridges across divides, reduce conflicts and create more cohesive societies. It requires patience, empathy and a commitment to addressing challenges that transcend one country or organization.
The practice of diplomacy dates back to ancient times. Writings on the walls of cities in Mesopotamia suggest treaties between different towns as early as 2850 B.C.E. Later, it became a formalized process with the development of the rank of diplomat—the word is derived from the Greek for folded document. By the 18th century, diplomats were a professional class with an institutional framework that included foreign affairs ministries, embassies and consulates.
Today, there is a renewed interest in diplomatic concepts and techniques and a search for new tools to meet the challenges of our complex, interconnected world. Adding to the growing corpus of understanding about this critical practice is exciting for researchers—and challenging for students.
Diplomacy is the conduct of international relations by peaceful means. It is a bridge between protest and menace, dialogue and negotiation, ultimatum and reprisal, war and peace. It disrupts and sustains alliances that deter war, and it contrives its termination, as well as the reconciliation that follows conflict.
The key to diplomacy is preparation, a high degree of intelligence (not just test scores or grades), and an ability to understand and appreciate people—like the courage that Anwar Sadat showed in his work with Israel and that Henry Kissinger displayed in working with Zhou Enlai on opening China. It also requires great stamina. Those who negotiate for long periods of time—like George Mitchell in the Northern Ireland peace process and Jimmy Carter during the Camp David talks with Menachem Begin—know what it’s like to spend weeks without sleep flying between Syria, Egypt and Israel.