The Importance of Diplomacy and Foreign Policy in Practice of International Relations

Background

Diplomacy and foreign policy are core tools used by governments to realize their states national interests, economic, political, or social. Diplomacy is defined by Harold Nicholas as the management of international relations by means of negotiations; the method by with these relations are adjusted and managed by ambassadors and envoys the business or art of the diplomat (Sharp, 2009). Governments leverage assets, such as their economic leverage, military power, and international ties, to realize their objectives. Foreign policy is a diplomatic instrument that is informed by a countrys national interests abroad for political, economic, and military benefits. The use of foreign policies can be accomplished through national interests is founded on strategy and actions to achieve specific objectives and goals. Therefore, diplomacy and foreign policy serve different roles in the practice of international relations that will be explored herein.

International relations refer to the relations between political actors and the connection of their actions, strategy, and goals with economic law, politics, and the law in the international environment. Such relations are determined and predicated on factors, such as psychology, geography, history, economics, and other core factors in political science. The interactions between law, such as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), and the actors, state representatives, or non-state actors, such as international non-governmental organizations (Jayamaha, 2021). Diplomacy plays a myriad of functions to make sure different states do not result in war to secure their interests or resolve conflicts.

Importance of Diplomacy and Relevant Issues

Diplomacy is perceived as an art of negotiations to secure the interests of a state without compromising on the countrys foreign policy. The representatives of states are individual actors or envoys who act on behalf of the state. Consequently, diplomacy facilitates communication between political actors and other international actors to address issues arising between states or global concerns. For example, after 9/11 there was a global concern about the use of air travel by terrorist organizations to compromise the security of the nation (German Institute for International and Security Affairs, 2018). Through diplomatic discourse, a standard measure was established among trade partners to ensure the safety of air travel, which was being carried out at their airports to ensure they sealed access and transport of weapons to the respective countries through air travel. As such, diplomacy plays a critical role in establishing ties among international actors to solve specific shared international problems.

Occasionally, differences may arise among actors, due to a conflict of interest, which could result in the need for military intervention. However, through diplomatic efforts, countries that have a conflict of interest rather than go to war can solve their differences through diplomatic relations that may involve a third non-biased actor (Jayamaha, 2021). The role of a non-biased actor is to serve as a mediator between the involved parties is to establish a harmonious negotiation process by remaining subjective and avoiding distractions that could stifle the diplomatic efforts.

For example, in 2007, Kenya held elections that were contested by the prior opposition party, which held that the results of the election had been tampered with in favor of the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki. Since Kenya is a member of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), Kofi Anan, then the secretary-general of the AU was mediated the negotiations that resulted in the Grand Coalition government and a cease in the post-election violence (Juma, 2009). Notably, while this was an internal...

…ties with countries where citizens have more ties in commerce or culturally. The development of new cultures has led to more global interactions that cannot be overseen crossly by government institutions as they initially did. Rather than focus on managing these elements of international relations, governments should focus on developing foreign policies that are symbolic of their political ideologies (AS, 2018). For example, China and Russia initially had mutual socialist interests in the 1960s but split due to the perception Russia making a peace with Europe, and America, which had capitalistic ideals contrary to their prior socialist policies. Such changes serve the overarching interest of a country and its political ideals to secure its interests despite the rapid changes in the international environment.

Relevant International Relations Theories

Constructivism holds that instead of the outright pursuit of material interest, a countries belief system, history, soial, and cultural, dictate its foreign policy objectives and behavior. Constructivist ideas hold that states are the most important actors in the international environment, but non-state actors also hold a valuable impact on behavior by lobbying and enforcing sanctions to defaulters of treaties and trade agreements. For example, non-state actors, such as United Nations, brings forth international issues where member states are invited to mediate and become signatories to work for the achievement of a universal goal, defaulters to the agreement are sanctioned according to the agreement (Hagmann and Biersteker, 2012). Realism holds that all states are acting to increase their power and self-preservation, and those that are most have the most power are likely to thrive in the long term (Lee, 2015). This theory holds a contrary position to constructivism since it states that the foremost goal of foreign policy should be self-preservation through gaining economic, political, and…