Chapter Summary- Origins of Organized Diplomacy
Chapter Summary- Origins of Organized Diplomacy
This chapter gives us short overview of history of diplomacy, how it developed, what was at the core beginning and what influenced it most.
Firstly there were assumptions that foundations of foreign policy were based on changeless national and imperial characteristics, that it is special and beyond understanding of ordinary man, so everyone tried to leave it to those elects in the Cabinet and trust them ‘blindly’. Implicitly it was believed that those Governments would works its best to maintain peace (greatest national interest), but 1914- 1918 war proved them wrong, so these ordinary citizens had to take responsibility for consequences of promises and decisions made on behalf of them plus to deal with created hostilities. After these events, voters decided not to put much trust into those elected in cabinets, but more to work on developing a system of information.
The problem arises when public started mixing terms, such as ‘foreign policy’, ‘negotiation’, ‘executive’, and/ or ‘legislative’ and their usage. In domestic affairs everything was pretty much clear, but problem was foreign policy due to wrong understanding and usage of word ‘diplomacy’, whose history is explained below.
Word ‘diplomacy’ were used to explain few very much different things, so we will try to give short overview of historical usage of it to show that it is not outdated nor invented recently and to show how and when it should be used.
Oxford English Dictionary says: ‘Diplomacy is a management of international relations; the method by which these relations are adjusted and managed by ambassadors and envoys; the business or art of diplomatist.’ (Harold Nicolson, Diplomacy)
If we take a look at human history, we will be able to see that diplomacy was actually older than it and that it started with angels as first diplomats between heaven and earth. Later on savages needed to communicate between each other’s tribes, at least to agree
This chapter gives us short overview of history of diplomacy, how it developed, what was at the core beginning and what influenced it most.
Firstly there were assumptions that foundations of foreign policy were based on changeless national and imperial characteristics, that it is special and beyond understanding of ordinary man, so everyone tried to leave it to those elects in the Cabinet and trust them ‘blindly’. Implicitly it was believed that those Governments would works its best to maintain peace (greatest national interest), but 1914- 1918 war proved them wrong, so these ordinary citizens had to take responsibility for consequences of promises and decisions made on behalf of them plus to deal with created hostilities. After these events, voters decided not to put much trust into those elected in cabinets, but more to work on developing a system of information.
The problem arises when public started mixing terms, such as ‘foreign policy’, ‘negotiation’, ‘executive’, and/ or ‘legislative’ and their usage. In domestic affairs everything was pretty much clear, but problem was foreign policy due to wrong understanding and usage of word ‘diplomacy’, whose history is explained below.
Word ‘diplomacy’ were used to explain few very much different things, so we will try to give short overview of historical usage of it to show that it is not outdated nor invented recently and to show how and when it should be used.
Oxford English Dictionary says: ‘Diplomacy is a management of international relations; the method by which these relations are adjusted and managed by ambassadors and envoys; the business or art of diplomatist.’ (Harold Nicolson, Diplomacy)
If we take a look at human history, we will be able to see that diplomacy was actually older than it and that it started with angels as first diplomats between heaven and earth. Later on savages needed to communicate between each other’s tribes, at least to agree