My understanding of diplomacy today

The work of a diplomat in the international arena is broader than I thought when I first started this module. The more I have learned and read about the history and diplomatic activities in International Relations the more I enjoyed it. I like the idea of the diplomatic society and I think it is very important, especially in contemporary time. Diplomats represent their own country in several ways, thus, US Information Agency (USIA), for instance, spends millions of Dollars to promote their own country through e.g. exchange program overseas, media etc.
Representation of one country is regarded as very important.

I support the idea of NGO's involvement in different areas (e.g. Human Rights, Environment, Child labour etc.). NGO’s are involved in talks and negotiations which ‘can’ shape decisions and contribute or propose new ideas in regards to agreements (e.g. tackling environmental issues).

Another interesting topic was public diplomacy whereas different students had different conclusions in regards to the term. For instance, one half supported the idea that public diplomacy is a synonym for propaganda. The other half supported Joseph Nye’s (soft power) idea

“Soft power works by convincing others to follow, or getting them to agree to, norms and institutions that produce the desired behaviour. Soft power can rest on the appeal of ones’ ideas or the ability to set the agenda in ways that shape the preferences of others “(Riordan, p.120)


My knowledge and ideas developed very fast as the more seminars I attended the more I understood the role in specific aspects and events. Furthermore, I think that the different blog entries with different topics we had to submit online, as one of the modules assessments helped me to develop my understanding of diplomacy. The comments of students were very helpful, too.

I can say that this module (including preparing for seminar, research and readings for Blog,) benefited me in regards to further my knowledge base and understand different ideas from different perspectives.

• Shau Riordan, 2004, The new diplomacy, Polity press Ltd. , USA