A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization.
The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and
protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well
as the promotion of information and friendly relations.
Diplomats are the oldest form of any of the foreign policy institutions of the state, predating by centuries foreign ministers and ministerial offices.
Diplomat is derived from the Greek διπλωμάτης, diplōmátēs, the holder of a diploma (a folded paper, literally a "folding"), referring in this case not to an educational certificate but to a diplomat's letters of accreditation,
which enable him or her to carry out duties on behalf of one country or
institution within the jurisdiction of another country or institution.
Diplomats in posts collect and report information that could affect
national interests, often with advice about how the home country
government should respond. Then, once any policy response has been
decided in the home country's capital, posts bear major responsibility
for implementing it. Diplomats have the job of conveying, in the most
persuasive way possible, the views of the home government to the
governments to which they are accredited and, in doing so, to try to
convince those governments to act in ways that suit home country
interests. In this way, diplomats are part of the beginning and the end
of each loop in the continuous process through which foreign policy is made.
In general, it has become harder for diplomats to act autonomously. Whereas in the past Thomas Jefferson could write to his Secretary of State,
"We have not heard from our Ambassador in Spain for two years. If we do
not hear from him this year, let us write him a letter",[1]
secure communication systems, emails and mobile telephones can track
down and instruct the most reclusive head of mission. The same
technology in reverse gives diplomats the capacity for more immediate
input about the policy-making processes in the home capital.
Secure email
has transformed the contact between diplomats and the ministry. It is
less likely to be leaked, and enables more personal contact than the
formal cablegram, with its wide distribution and impersonal style.
Advocacy
The home country will usually send instructions to a diplomatic post
on what foreign policy goals to pursue, but decisions on tactics - who
needs to be influenced, what will best persuade them, who are potential
allies and adversaries, and how it can be done - are for the diplomats
overseas to make.
In this operation, the intelligence, integrity, cultural
understanding and energy of individual diplomats are critical. If they
are any good at their jobs, they will have developed relationships
grounded in trust and mutual understanding with influential members of
the country in which they are accredited. They will have worked hard to
understand the motives, thought patterns and culture of the other side.
Negotiation
The diplomat should be an excellent negotiator but, above all, a
catalyst for peace and understanding between peoples. The diplomat's
principal role is to foster peaceful relations between states. This role
takes on heightened importance once war breaks out. Negotiation must
necessarily continue but within significantly altered contexts.
Training
Most diplomats have university degrees in international relations, political science, economics, or law. In India, the Indian Foreign Service
is the gateway for anybody who has completed graduation and aspires to
become a diplomat. However, the selection process is tough and lengthy,
with an annual intake of roughly 20 to 25 candidates every year.
Diplomats have generally been considered members of an exclusive and
prestigious profession. The public image of diplomats has been described
as "a caricature of pinstriped men gliding their way around a
never-ending global cocktail party"[3]
J. W. Burton has noted that "despite the absence of any specific
professional training, diplomacy has a high professional status, due
perhaps to a degree of secrecy and mystery that its practitioners
self-consciously promote."[4] The state supports the high status, privileges and self-esteem of its diplomats in order to support its own international status and position.
The high regard for diplomats is also due to most countries'
conspicuous selection of diplomats, with regard to their professionality
and ability to behave according to a certain etiquette, in order to effectively promote their interests. Also, international law grants diplomats extensive privileges and immunities, which further distinguished the diplomat from the status of an ordinary citizen.
Reflecting a dissatisfaction with as the diplomat's elite and out of touch image, African American author Langston Hughes imagined an alternative figure in the realm of international relations. Hughes spliced the terms "diplomat" and "hip
to that" to coin the term "hip-to-mat." The figure of the hip-to-mat
attends summit meetings and takes up the international situation with an
eye toward supplying world populations with adequate food and letting
"everybody have civil rights, white, black, yellow, brown, gray, grizzle, or green."
Psychology
While posted overseas, there is a danger that diplomats may become disconnected from their own country and culture. Sir Harold Nicolson acknowledged that diplomats can become "denationalised, internationalised and therefore dehydrated, an elegant empty husk".
Foreign Policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy,
consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard
its national interests and to achieve its goals within international
relations milieu.[citation needed] The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries. The study of such strategies is called foreign policy analysis.
In recent times, due to the deepening level of globalization and
transnational activities, the states will also have to interact with non-state actors.
The aforementioned interaction is evaluated and monitored in attempts
to maximize benefits of multilateral international cooperation. Since
the national interests
are paramount, foreign policies are designed by the government through
high-level decision making processes. National interests accomplishment
can occur as a result of peaceful cooperation with other nations, or
through exploitation. Usually, creating foreign policy is the job of the head of government and the foreign minister (or equivalent). In some countries the legislature
also has considerable effects. Foreign policies of countries have
varying rates of change and scopes of intent, which can be affected by
factors that change the perceived national interests or even affect the
stability of the country itself. The foreign policy of one country can
have a profound and lasting impact on many other countries and on the
course of international relations as a whole, such as the Monroe Doctrine conflicting with the mercantilist policies of 19th century European countries and the goals of independence of newly formed Central American and South American countries.
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle described humans as social animals. Therefore, friendships and relations have existed between humans since the beginning of human interaction. As the organization developed in human affairs, relations between people also organized. Foreign policy thus goes back to primitive times. The inception in human affairs of foreign relations and the need for foreign policy to deal with them is as old as the organization of human life in groups.
The literature from ancient times, the Bible, the Homeric poems, the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, and many others show an accumulation of experience in dealing with foreigners. The ancient writings (Chinese & Indian) give much evidence of thought concerned with the management of relations between peoples.
Global wars were fought three times in the twentieth century. Consequently, international relations became a public concern as well as an important field of study and research. After the Second World War, and during the 1960s many researchers in the U.S. particularly, and from other countries in common, brought forth a wealth of research work and theory. This work was done for international relations and not for foreign policy as such. Gradually, various theories began to grow around the international relations, international systems and international politics but the need for a theory of foreign policy, that is the starting point in each sovereign state, continued to receive negligible attention. The reason was that the states used to keep their foreign policies under official secrecy and it was not considered appropriate for public, as it is considered today, to know about these policies. This iron-bound secrecy is an essential part for the framework of foreign policy formulation.
The second world war and its devastation was a great threat and challenge for humanity, which revealed to everyone the importance of international relations. Though foreign policy continued to remain under-cover, academic work placed international relations in a structured framework of political science. Graduate and Post-graduate courses developed. Research was encouraged, and gradually, international relations became an academic discipline in universities throughout the world.
The subject of whether or not constructive attempts at involvement by citizens benefits the disciplines of the "art," or whether or not such disciplines as intercultural and interpersonal communications and others may play a significant part in the future of international relations could be a subject for further study by interested individuals/groups and is encouraged at the educational level. The ability of nations to keep the peace in this day and age has not merited a status of "beyond reproach." This is one fact about mankind which is apparent to at least some of humanity. The writer is unaware of whether or not agencies who most closely deal with foreign policy keep logs of statistical experience much like the "experience" or actuarial statistics of the insurance industry, but it may deserve consideration, e.g. when situation "C" happened before, and subject included instances of "E" and "L" or something like that, how was it handled and what was the result? When were peaceful and amicable results leading to better relations ever obtained through considered action and what was that action?
The writers who worked with the foreign policy can be divided in two groups:
The works of second group comes closer to the theory of foreign policy but there is no attempt to formulate a basic theory of foreign policy. Hans Morgenthau’s works on principle elements of foreign policy seem to have covered the most ground.
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle described humans as social animals. Therefore, friendships and relations have existed between humans since the beginning of human interaction. As the organization developed in human affairs, relations between people also organized. Foreign policy thus goes back to primitive times. The inception in human affairs of foreign relations and the need for foreign policy to deal with them is as old as the organization of human life in groups.
The literature from ancient times, the Bible, the Homeric poems, the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, and many others show an accumulation of experience in dealing with foreigners. The ancient writings (Chinese & Indian) give much evidence of thought concerned with the management of relations between peoples.
Global wars were fought three times in the twentieth century. Consequently, international relations became a public concern as well as an important field of study and research. After the Second World War, and during the 1960s many researchers in the U.S. particularly, and from other countries in common, brought forth a wealth of research work and theory. This work was done for international relations and not for foreign policy as such. Gradually, various theories began to grow around the international relations, international systems and international politics but the need for a theory of foreign policy, that is the starting point in each sovereign state, continued to receive negligible attention. The reason was that the states used to keep their foreign policies under official secrecy and it was not considered appropriate for public, as it is considered today, to know about these policies. This iron-bound secrecy is an essential part for the framework of foreign policy formulation.
The second world war and its devastation was a great threat and challenge for humanity, which revealed to everyone the importance of international relations. Though foreign policy continued to remain under-cover, academic work placed international relations in a structured framework of political science. Graduate and Post-graduate courses developed. Research was encouraged, and gradually, international relations became an academic discipline in universities throughout the world.
The subject of whether or not constructive attempts at involvement by citizens benefits the disciplines of the "art," or whether or not such disciplines as intercultural and interpersonal communications and others may play a significant part in the future of international relations could be a subject for further study by interested individuals/groups and is encouraged at the educational level. The ability of nations to keep the peace in this day and age has not merited a status of "beyond reproach." This is one fact about mankind which is apparent to at least some of humanity. The writer is unaware of whether or not agencies who most closely deal with foreign policy keep logs of statistical experience much like the "experience" or actuarial statistics of the insurance industry, but it may deserve consideration, e.g. when situation "C" happened before, and subject included instances of "E" and "L" or something like that, how was it handled and what was the result? When were peaceful and amicable results leading to better relations ever obtained through considered action and what was that action?
The writers who worked with the foreign policy can be divided in two groups:
- World war writers who treat international politics and foreign policy as an indifferent, single field of study.
- Writers who recognize foreign policy as a source rather than the substance of international politics and bring it under study as a subject.
The works of second group comes closer to the theory of foreign policy but there is no attempt to formulate a basic theory of foreign policy. Hans Morgenthau’s works on principle elements of foreign policy seem to have covered the most ground.
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