Authors:Heidi Maurer; Kristi Raik Abstract: Source: Page Count 18This article explores European diplomatic cooperation abroad since 2009 by studying diplomatic structures and practices in two key locations: Moscow and Washington, DC. It analyses the functions of European Union (EU) delegations as part of the hybrid EU foreign policy system and their way of engaging with the changing global patterns of diplomatic practice. The empirical analysis draws on extensive semi-structured interviews conducted in Moscow and Washington during 2013-2014. Our cases confirm the deeper institutionalization and intensification of European diplomatic cooperation abroad. The EU delegations increasingly assumed traditional diplomatic tasks and coordinated member states on the ground. The EU delegations’ ability to establish good working relationships with member states as well as the leadership of key individuals (notably EU ambassadors) were key factors in shaping how this new system fell into place, which shows the continued prevalence of hybridity in EU foreign policy-making. PubDate: 2018-09-15T00:00:00Z
Authors:Dorina Baltag Abstract: Source: Page Count 22The European Union (EU) today has quasi-embassies at its disposal in third countries — the EU delegations — which represent the Union’s eyes, ears and face. Following the Treaty of Lisbon, these delegations assumed the role of the rotating Presidencies and oversee the conduct of EU diplomatic affairs. In practice, this implies representing the EU and cooperating with EU member states’ embassies on matters not only relevant for aid and trade, but also for foreign and security policy. By employing performance criteria such as effectiveness, relevance and capability, this article uncovers the particularities of the practices of European diplomatic cooperation among EU delegations and national embassies in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Minsk, Chisinau and Kiev from 2013-2016, the article explores practices of European cooperation abroad, shows how EU diplomatic actors identify a common approach and emphasizes certain capability issues faced by the EU in these countries. PubDate: 2018-09-15T00:00:00Z
Authors:Federica Bicchi Abstract: Source: Page Count 19This article focuses on institutionalized forms of diplomatic cooperation among European Union (EU) members in southern Mediterranean capitals. It argues that European diplomatic cooperation represents a thin form of multilateralization of member states’ bilateral relations with southern Mediterranean countries. By analysing diplomatic presence on the ground, it shows that the European Union delegations in the area are not only big, but also politically strong, and they interact with a large number of national diplomats. The article examines how EU delegations in the southern Mediterranean represent a diplomatic ‘site’, in which diplomacy occurs in the shape of information-gathering, representation and negotiation, including among EU member states. This does not amount to a single European diplomatic system, however, as coordination remains thin to date and the agenda-setting mechanisms for EU delegations’ work and for European diplomatic cooperation have not (yet') been fully developed. PubDate: 2018-09-15T00:00:00Z
Authors:Michael H. Smith Abstract: Source: Page Count 16This article focuses on the past and present of the European Union’s system of diplomacy, and asks whether the changes initiated by the Lisbon Treaty have really transformed that system. The Lisbon Treaty promised to transform the situation in which ‘the flag followed trade’ and give a primary role to the diplomacy of politics and security. Using arguments based on the location of agency, the politicization of economic diplomacy and the logic of external opportunity structures, the article argues that the transformation has not taken place, and that EU external action remains essentially a hybrid construct in which economic diplomacy plays a central role. Such a situation has important implications for EU diplomacy in third countries and for the character of the EU’s diplomatic representation, especially when it comes to the demand expressed in the EU’s 2016 Global Strategy for ‘joined up’ or closely coordinated external action. PubDate: 2018-09-15T00:00:00Z
Authors:Sanderijn Duquet Abstract: Source: Page Count 20When serving abroad, diplomats must abide by both the diplomatic functions detailed in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Convention’s general obligations. This applies, too, to the European Union’s missions (Union delegations), which execute diplomatic functions for the EU in third countries. These diplomatic activities are more severely constrained than for individual member states by the limits set by EU law in terms of the horizontal and vertical division of competences. This article demonstrates how Union delegations fulfil nearly all traditional diplomatic tasks outlined in the Vienna Convention, while going beyond the traditional conception of diplomatic functions in terms of human rights protection, the execution of administrative programmes, and the management of coordination/cooperation modes with EU member state missions on the ground. Ultimately, the article argues that Union delegations are able to meet the demands of modern diplomatic interchange and may have inadvertently altered diplomatic functions altogether. PubDate: 2018-09-15T00:00:00Z
Authors:Andreas Pacher Abstract: Source: Page Count 25How do governments select their public diplomacy targets' Officials can shake hands with important allies’ presidents, they can honour writers from far-away states, or they can visit slums to meet victims of violence. This article proposes a conceptual typology of strategic publics based on two dimensions: the strategic importance of the represented polity; and the individual’s power position. The variables are parallel to universal psychological dimensions of social cognition — that is, warmth and competence — and they are combined with diplomatic theories revolving around the primacy of representation. Six ideal types of strategic publics are defined and exemplified. The typology integrates governmental and non-governmental, foreign and domestic, and elite and non-elite publics. In addition, the article proposes a three-level heuristic device that facilitates the analysis of cases with multiple publics. The proposed analytical tools seek to stimulate future efforts to refine conceptualizations of strategic publics. PubDate: 2018-07-31T00:00:00Z
Authors:Molly Krasnodębska Abstract: Source: Page Count 21International relations (IR) scholars studying public diplomacy expect that if a foreign public accepts and responds favourably to the narrative disseminated by a public diplomacy actor, this actor is more likely to achieve its desired policy objectives in the country. So how can we explain that pro-European elites in Ukraine employed the European Union’s narratives during the Maidan protests, leading to regime change in Ukraine and a separatist war involving Russia — situations the European Union had wanted to avoid' Drawing on Gadamer’s theory on the transformation of meaning in communication processes, this article seeks to explain how local activists pick up, transform and employ narratives disseminated by an international actor. Arguing that public diplomacy narratives can be reinterpreted by the receptor, thus leading to unintended effects, the article calls for further attention on the role of narratives and their reception by local actors in the study of IR. PubDate: 2018-07-06T00:00:00Z
Authors:Costas M. Constantinou Abstract: Source: Page Count 23In engaging the visual aspects of public diplomacy, this article has three objectives. First, it introduces the notion of visual diplomacy — the ways and means by which images are used by plural diplomatic actors to transmit ideas to audiences, producing and circulating meanings that serve particular purposes, with the aim of influencing, shaping and transforming relations between actors and across publics. Second, it examines how the spectacle of diplomacy is enacted by focusing on a particular case of commissioned cinematography of Cypriot public diplomacy. Third, it engages visual diplomacy cinematically, employing Deleuze’s insights on the cinematic apparatus, and by producing an essay film, The Blessed Envoy, linked to this article. The film reuses, through creative montage, nine official documentaries of Cypriot public diplomacy, revealing the key narratives and hidden transcripts that the visual material disseminates, thus encouraging a reflexive focus on the use of imagery in diplomacy. PubDate: 2018-03-01T00:00:00Z
Authors:Tal Samuel-Azran; Moran Yarchi Abstract: Source: Page Count 22The Arabic-language Facebook page of the Israeli Defense Forces’ spokesperson has attracted a massive following in the Arab world and serves as an interesting and unique case study towards understanding the effect of a military public diplomacy initiative. Content analysis of the Facebook page reveals a mixture of power and deterrence messages, with posts designed to emphasize shared values. Analysis of audience engagement with those messages — measured by ‘likes’, ‘shares’, comments and negative feedback — surprisingly reveals that shared values’ messages generated a similar level of engagement to other messages, which may show that the content does not play a significant role in users’ engagement. In addition, the analysis reveals that during periods of heightened intensity in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, followers’ engagement and negative feedback rose dramatically. This study provides a unique perspective of the relevance and effectiveness of military public diplomacy in the era of online social networks. PubDate: 2018-01-10T00:00:00Z
Authors:Jeffrey Robertson Abstract: Source: Page Count 20Diplomacy was in the midst of a transformation from ‘old diplomacy’ to ‘new diplomacy’ one century ago, yet the changes were not welcomed by everyone. The renowned diplomat Harold Nicolson lamented the loss of the ‘stock market of diplomatic reputation’, meaning the corporate estimate of character built up during a lifetime of frontline diplomatic service. As we progress through another period of remarkable transformation in diplomacy, what has become of the stock market of diplomatic reputation' This article undertakes a case study of diplomatic alumni from a public policy training institute. It investigates understandings of the construct of reputation, concern for reputation and use of reputation. It finds that reputation remains very important to practising diplomats. Reputation is indeed a timeless feature that is intrinsic to frontline diplomacy. Furthermore, Nicolson’s conceptualization of ideal diplomacy as a building block of reputation remains relevant and presents an appealing topic for future research. PubDate: 2017-06-15T00:00:00Z
Authors:Özlem Terzi Abstract: Source: Page Count 20This article analyses how the changes brought about by the Lisbon Treaty have influenced the performance of the EU Delegation in Ankara and the relationship between the EU Delegation, member states’ embassies and Turkish government during times of crisis. Based on numerous interviews, the article analyses how European diplomacy conducted by the EU Delegation and EU member states’ embassies functions in three categorically different situations: 1) a political crisis in the host country; 2) an international crisis involving a neighbouring region to the host country; and 3) negotiations between the host government and the EU on an issue important for EU member states, against the background of a stalled accession process. Based on an investigation of the relationship of the EU Delegation, EU member states’ embassies and Turkey in those three distinct contexts, the article sheds light on the opportunities and constraints of the new way of European diplomatic representation. PubDate: 2017-06-08T00:00:00Z
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