Diplomacy of today is one gigantic failure. Why is it the way it is?

1. Diplomacy, as the essential element of Politics
In the Oxford English dictionary the noun ‘Diplomacy’ is expressed as the skill of
managing international relations or in other words, dealing with people in a
sensitiveand an effective way. Diplomacy however, is as old as Politics. The
ancient civilizations thrived in their eras alongsidetheir contemporaries due to
the healthy relationships they mustered with each other which they substantiated
with occasionalvisits with wagons pregnantwith gifts. History has unanimous
records of such great diplomatic feats that united the most unlikely of cultures
that may have been an impossible in the present day. In 331 BC Alexander the
Great of Macedonia was on a questwhich he almost believed to be an act of dire
holiness. He was en route to Persia; an odyssey with vengeanceto confrontthe
arch enemy of the Greek civilization, Darius the Third. This gallant young emperor
who had always shoneas the epitome of courage to his soldiers made an
important decision, a decision which led to the founding of one of the most
historic cities in the world – Alexandria. He decided to stop in Egypt, where he
was welcome as a liberator, as a pharaoh, with love and respect. His diplomacy
was of great importancefor his emergence as the victor in a battlefield where the
Persians outnumbered the Macedonians 10:1. Good diplomacy has always been
lucrative; this for a fact is made comprehensible with the availability of
documentaries on how the ancient worlds thrived even though they had
considerably low technology. In Politics one could almost say ‘Onething leads to
another.’ Prosperity requires development synchronized with a stable economy,
the latter requires peace; as in peaceful relationships with your neighbors both on
a domestic level and at an international level and peace requires efficient
diplomacy. Therefore it is appropriate to state that good diplomacy has always led
to prosperity. The relevance of this fact can be highly regarded with almost all of
the ancient civilizations – Egyptians, Chinese, Indians…etc. Diplomacy requires
negotiation. Usually the negotiations are done by professionaldiplomats
representing the two or more countries prior to an endorsementmade by their
politicians. This has been the most common formof diplomacy for over 5000
years in human civilization. The ancient kings and emperors would send their
diplomats bearing gifts to distant lands to establish stable relationships or in most

2. cases as a prelude to invasion. When Alexander the Great sweptthrough Asia
Minor, he instructed his Generals to act as diplomats to make a better impression.
The mammoth Macedonian cavalry itself was a factor for intimidation, but
diplomatic negotiations often had been helpful in claiming somekingdoms
without any reprisaland Jerusalem is the most suitable candidate to substantiate
this statement. However, Alexander’s conquestalso illustrates yet another aspect
of international diplomacy, failure. Upon receiving the news of the tremendous
Macedonian advanceDarius the Third opted for diplomacy. His negotiations
would have been brutally dismissed had it been the Victorian Era. He offered his
eldest daughter to the young conqueror butit failed. The failure of diplomacy
confirmed the great battle which eventually led to the end of the once glorious
Persian Empire and plunged Europeinto whatwas known as the Hellenistic
Period.
Centuries after this great spectacle, the Crusades proved to be one of the most
important milestones in the history of mankind. Why? Well, I believe that it
implemented a phenomenal change in the direction of international diplomacy.
Until then the Western civilizations wereall self-absorbed in their own medieval
literature, art and most importantly the oppression under the Catholic Church.
The Crusades threatened the reign of the Holy Roman Empire, but nevertheless
the defeat in Constantinople led to the Renaissancein Europe which gave birth to
scientific enlightenment. Itwould be preposterous to say that science and politics
followed two different paths in the courseof history. On the contrary, the
scientific enlightenment had a tremendous impact on Politics. International
diplomacy took a new course, one that would eventually plunge the world into an
era of Imperialismwhereexploration and colonization became the priorities of
the state. The ancient Eastern civilizations founded science and they documented
it in scrolls. This knowledgeeventually went into the hands of the Westwho
literally improvised the theoretical knowledgeby putting it to practice and they
saw the dawn of a new era. The gradual exploitation of the East would inevitably
reveal more secrets or so they believed and this was supposed to be a slow
process. However, theunforeseen Crusades happened to sharp shootthe
process. Itwas actually a race between the Christian kingdoms and the newly

3. formed Islamic empire. Who would conquer the Eastfirst? The race would decide
who would thrivein the New Era. This seemingly enigmatic question plunged the
Western Europeans into a novelera of Exploration via navigation. The world’s
largest sea battle had begun. Some of the finest diplomats sailed in these ships,
their hearts bound to their sovereign kings and queens with pride and
commitment. The Spaniards, theFrench, the British, the Portugueseand the
Dutch conquistadors sailed the oceans wide with honor, for they were doing
God’s bidding or so they believed. Thus the globalization of Diplomacy found its
long awaited manure to thrive on. However, the hasty political advancement had
its unintended consequences, war at a global level.
In politics perception is reality, thereforenothing is ever enough. Lust for power
has been characteristic of humans for thousands of years. Imperialismdictates,
‘The more the land, the more the power,’ and this was a guideline for every
diplomat who sailed in these ships, a guideline which boosted their morale and
resulted in the fierce loyalty to the king and the state. These diplomatic
conquistadors returned homewith trunks full of gold and diamonds. Their feats
were rewarded with knighthoods and nobilities. Unbeknownstto them the states
were preparing for war, a series of wars that werebound to change the very
fabric of nature, one that would diminish the old world, thus giving way to a new
world where the virtues that wereonce valued undergo rapid deterioration.
Today, the presenthardly has the reminiscence of the glorious past. We have
come a long way since imperialism and virtues of the old world havelost their
values, in fact we have emerged into a colourless era with the essenceof
insecurity bubbling out of every corner of the world. World politics of the present
day is garnished with novelty. Novel variants of democracy haveemerged since
the end of the Second World War. ‘Still water runs deep,’ or so says the old
English proverb, likewisewhatlies underneath this democracy is cataclysmic, it
uses democracy as a mask to legitimatise itself in order to thrive in a world where
greed and thirstfor power is overwhelming. What is this? This ladies and
gentlemen is none other than corruption which now is highly institutionalised.
However, mostpoliticians deny the existence of this corruption within the
perimeters of their states. This is becauseof the self–image that they endeavor to

4. persisteven at the expense of their own countrymen. How does this affect
diplomacy? The affect is phenomenal. I believe that diplomacy should manipulate
politics. This leads to the inevitable formation of healthy relationships between
two nations. The ancient world thrived upon this theory. An Ambassador is
probably the best example for a plenipotentiary; a properly groomed, well
dressed and highly educated gentleman with abundantknowledge on
international diplomacy. He may be a mere pawn on a chess board, but a serial
chess player would know that often times a well-placed pawn is morepowerful
than a king. A plenipotentiary of such proportions carries theresponsibility of
protecting the reputation of his country upon his shoulders. ThereforeI believe it
isn’t incorrectto say ‘not everybody can be a diplomat’. In the caseof a
governmentwhereby politics is often manipulated by diplomacy, the
plenipotentiary is probably the most valuable assetof the political hierarchy. The
result is more than satisfactory, the number of allies continue to grow with almost
every diplomatic conversation.
However, when politics begin manipulating diplomacy whatfollows is the
systematic deterioration of the prosperity, virtues and everything else of the
country. History provides us with vivid examples to substantiatethis claim;
probably the best example would be the Ribbentrop – Molotov Pact. Joachim von
Ribbentrop was a gentleman, but with poor knowledge on diplomacy, almost
nothing. Despite it Adolf Hitler naively believed that Ribbentrop a former
champagnebaron would know something about international diplomacy. On the
contrary I believe that Adolf Hitler made the choice on purposeknowing such a
person could be subjected to convenientmanipulation. Thus, Ribbentrop became
an errand boy in a diplomatic disguise, thoroughly manipulated by the fuehrer.
The puppet diplomat went to the Kremlin with an agenda. The resultwas
beneficial to both the USSRand the Third Reich but hazardous to Poland. Poland
being the object of the diplomatic discussions ceased to exist after that. The
triumph however, camewith its unintended consequences, a globalized war that
led to the extinction of the Third Reich, and the diplomatic errand boy got a date
with the hangman.

5. The irremediable calamity is that this catastrophic manipulation continues to exist
today. The manipulation seemingly is at a climax. The manipulation of diplomacy
has unleashed a chain of destructiveevents that could lead to another global war,
only this time it could be the last. Why do I believe so? Well, the answer is
nothing shortof simple. In the 21st
century weare in a nuclear era. The measure
of power for the mostpart is dependent on the possession of nuclear weapons.
This is the reality of the 21st
century. Internationaldiplomats who usually go in for
these so called negotiations have but a minute role to play because they are
highly restricted by their political masters who play the tune to which the
diplomats dance. Politicians deny this, but instead blame it on the inefficiency of
the plenipotentiaries.
The political manipulation is probably dueto the desire for power. When it comes
to power, nothing is ever enough; acquiring power often requires the suppression
of another. This is true about Africa, for decades this continent has suffered
tremendous suppression becausethe soil bears the elements of power. Theseare
not justoil, but also diamonds, gold and other precious gifts of nature.
Surprisingly thesecountries despite possessing such an enormous quantity of
natural resources continueto decay in an array of conflicts. This may seem as a
mystery, butwhen the mud settles it becomes as clear as day. The analysis is one
of immense simplicity. The United Nations and many other organizations send
them aid in enormous proportions, butthe damages seem irremediable.
Plenipotentiaries are flown into these conflict zones for negotiations that are
supposed to cease conflicts, but they persist, hence the diplomatic efforts are a
constantfailure. Well, there is a concealed crisis unbeknown to the diplomat. The
politicians who manipulate him have a hidden agenda, the longer the conflicts
persistthe better it is for them, and therefore they fuel the conflict by taking
biased decision, and at the end of the day the conflict zones continue to lose huge
portions of their natural wealth.
I think it is fairly reasonableto state that modern diplomacy has failed its cause.
There is a phrase: Yesterday washistory, tomorrow isa mystery buttoday is a gift
and that’s why it has received the name present.

6. The question is ‘Will there be a tomorrow?’ I believe it would remain as a
rhetorical question, but at least this much could be said, humans as the highest
beings of the hierarchy havehad the ability to thrive for many millennia.
However, in the present day where the fate of the entire globe depends on
politics, the misconception of diplomacy and its corruptmanipulation has
threatened our ability to thrive and when one fails to thrive he is usually driven
into extinction.
Indeed today is a gift, because we are granted time to change, and it is a point to
ponder.
By: VisithRisiraDantanarayana