Diplomacy – technology and increase role of NGO’s

“Over 20,000 transnational non-governmental organization (NGO) networks are already active on the world stage, of which 90 per cent were formed during the last thirty years.”

(Riordan, 2004, p. 12)

International Relations are in constant mutation and evolution. In parallel diplomacy evolved in many different ways. Plus, Globalization brought innovation, closeness and information together worldwide connecting people. Due to this phenomenon, one of the main changes in diplomacy was within the close circle of international players who saw the rise of non-state actors. Though, Non-Governmental Organisations have existed for two centuries their role in the world stage has increased drastically particularly caused by the development of technologies of information and communication which influence public opinion. Who has not yet seen heartbreaking images of starving children, around the world? Images which are shown through the media to touch our hearts and therefore make us react.

Diplomacy suffered in recent decades increased media attention which occurred due to the development of technologies in the past century. A good example of this is The United Nations Climate Change Conference. A major political event which had worldwide news coverage.

Another characteristic of modern diplomacy are multilateral negotiations between states which now include the presence of NGOs, which predominantly exist because of charity donations.

NGOs like to call themselves representatives of civil society and take advantage of the mass media to promote their organization, goals, and draw attention to actions of governments and multinationals. The controversy around Shell and the extraction of oil in Nigeria illustrates their power. The video below was used by Amnesty International to cause public awareness regarding the lack of human rights and the environmental devastation caused by this transnational.

Obviously 50 years ago people would never know about this issue or at least it would not cause so much impact. Due to the media attention the company was publicly embarrassed and for the same reason Shell changed its policies regarding human rights standards and the environment. As Riodan states “The impact of these campaigns is indisputable, as is the greater political power new technology has given NGOs” (Riordan, 2004, p.89).

The previous reasons demonstrate how technology increased media’s attention in diplomacy and also the power of NGO’s in politic affairs in recent years. NGOs use the media to influence the public’s opinion and consequently the government to change their policies or even transnational’s procedures as shown above. There are many campaigns in which NGOs use media to influence us: advertisements in TV, mailshots, networking via internet, printed press and mobile telephones. We are surrounded by their attempts to make us act and help their causes.

But can NGO’s make people and governments react?

They surely have been proving that in the last years...

References

Riordan, S. (2004) The New Diplomacy

Polity Press, Cambridge