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29.01.2014 Feature Article

Pillars For Strenthening Diplomacy

Episode Two- From The Topic Series- Ensuring National And International Peace Through Civic Diplomacy
Pillars For Strenthening Diplomacy
29.01.2014 LISTEN

It is our collective responsibility in our homes, communities, regions, societies and nations to tackle our internal micro conflicts with micro diplomacy and the macro conflicts will become an easy deal. So far as we still struggle to resolve our internal conflicts, we will remain perplexed about the solutions to the large externalities.

INTRODUCTION
"Syrians must come together to save their country, protect their children and find a peaceful path to a better future" This was a statement from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon concerning the inhumane massacre going on in Syria just for the cause of political power struggle. The Geneva II peace conference has started diplomatically to find a peaceful lasting solution to the Syria civil conflict which has been raging since 2011. On the first day of the Geneva Communiqué in Switzerland, both the government representatives and the opposition have only heaped acrimonious accusations on each other. It was a war of counter speeches and indictments against one another, even the United States (US) and the United Nations (UN) getting their share.

The superstructure of a skyscraper looks extraordinary, attractive and magnificent but the reason for its beauty and existence is normally unrecognized. In revealing the hidden mystery that makes the tower stand tall, attractive and strong in the midst of all storms; the greatest glory and appreciation goes nowhere but to the hidden pillars and foundation that strengthens and holds the building in a solid ground.

The second episode of the article entitled “ensuring national and international peace through civic diplomacy” is burdened to discover some key values and virtues that solidify diplomacy to frame a successful superstructure of peace and stability.

Now, any disagreement among tensed parties if not solved, may lead to a wrangle; a wrangle may lead to a conflict− conflicts may lead to war and war to destruction.

In philosophy, philosophical thinkers passionately consider an intolerable problem confronting the social order- then they find idealistic or practical tools that have the potency of tackling that problem. We are all modern philosophers whether great or small if we think out for solutions to tackle our predicaments.

The problem of preventing the outbreak of war or resolving an existing conflict could be considered the greatest intolerable condition facing man today- for our ego never desires to yield to cheating or to succumb. The human nature of egoism and egotism, fortified by sheer arrogance and unpatriotic vertical pride has only set a dangerous precedent for posterity and making the mortal world an unsafe place to live.

To be egocentrically minded in this current global village driven by technology- whether a state, an individuals, whether in religion, science, politics or the social order is just like toning the line of lower mammals in the state of nature whose primary living breeds excessive war.

The showmanship of the global world, individual states and the pride of technological and scientific advancement fails to tackle the fundamental peace that men need to live harmoniously; free from all alarms. Men and women, children and even beast live in fear in several parts of the world- in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Sudan and even Northern Nigeria.

The Middle East continues to be the most dangerous regions of the world to live because of terrorist attacks from non-state actors like the Taliban and Al Qaeda yet it is undoubtedly the most strategic region to be aligned with in terms of black gold (oil). The eastern part of Africa especially the horn (Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya), central and north Africa are gradually becoming unsafe regions for the people- especially the civic population, under the clothe of militancy, terrorism and sometimes deliberate insurgency. Latin America is unsafe with drug trade- and so are many of the western and eastern superpowers. The world must be safe for us all to live in but how?

Over several centuries and years; powerful states have always adopted a hard power approach (military force) to drive foreign policy and tackle conflicts. Most of which have been a total failure.

For instance, after the Second World War, two superpowers emerged and combated in about five decades of cold war- the United States driving capitalism in the West and the former Soviet Union led by Russia, leading communism from the eastern bloc. In their bid to fight the spread of communism, the US sent military troops to defend southern Vietnam against the communist Northern Vietnamese government.

Below is the human cost of the war according to Encyclopædia Britannica.

“The human costs of the long conflict were harsh for all involved. Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war. In 1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C., inscribed with the names of 57,939 members of U.S. armed forces who had died or were missing as a result of the war. Over the following years, additions to the list have brought the total past 58,200. (At least 100 names on the memorial are those of servicemen who were actually Canadian citizens.) Among other countries that fought for South Vietnam on a smaller scale, South Korea suffered more than 4,000 dead, Thailand about 350, Australia more than 500, and New Zealand some three dozen”.

At the end of the war, the communist government of North Vietnam that the US was fighting against was the victorious party. Though the US invested so much to instill its values in the region, their ambitions failed. Where hard power or coercive force fails then soft diplomacy must be the immediate solution.

Diplomacy is undoubtedly a powerful antidote that helps to quench or resolve war. The main task faced by diplomatic engagements is the extent to which mediations, negotiations and agreements are executed successfully to the parties involved.

The word Diplomacy has nine alphabets D-I-P-L-O-M-A-C-Y which is described by Encyclopædia Britannica as “the established method of influencing the decisions and behaviour of foreign governments and peoples through dialogue, negotiation, and other measures short of war or violence”.

For diplomacy to be implemented successfully in a conflict situation, certain core principles must not be neglected. In short, diplomacy must be strengthened by some key pillars to maintain its success. I find the following alphabetical deductions imperative for the purposes of tackling with the statement, “pillars of strengthening diplomacy”.

D: Diplomacy must promote deliberation and dialogue

I: Diplomacy must be impartial and intrepid
P: Diplomacy ought to be persistent to perform
L: Diplomacy must be Lucid and Legitimate
O: Diplomacy needs objective optimism
M: Diplomacy must be magnanimous and having meaningful missions

A: Diplomacy requires an altruistic and adjusting nature

C: Diplomacy must ensure constant conferencing
Y: Diplomacy should yield to standard yardstick

The goal of this article entitled “the pillars for strengthening diplomacy (from the main topic ensuring national and international peace through civic diplomacy) explains and digest the meaning of these terms in relation to the process and success of micro and macro diplomacy.


THE PILLARS OF DIPLOMACY
Firstly, diplomats must ensure that deliberations and dialogues are applied as everlasting tools in the process of installing peace. Deliberation and dialogue are important harmonizing mechanisms in diplomacy used to curb or erase difficult situations. Deliberation is an important device short of war or violence that ensures that parties and groups in disagreements apply peaceful discussions, debates and dialogue in order to finalize the best option for tackling their antagonism. In the course of deliberation, the parties never think of war or aggression. Because of the importance attached to deliberation and dialogue, Ban Ki-Moon remarked on Syria; enough is enough of the civil war for the time has come for negotiation.

Deliberation and Dialogue takes place in every aspect of our lives and the institutions we create. The law courts or the parliaments are important organs of government where deliberations among contending parties lead to a final solution through the use of legal instruments.

For instance, when two groups are claiming the ownership of a land, peaceful resolution may come about if either party relinquishes the claim- but if not; the only alternative is to settle the matter at the law court. In such an instance, each party will be required to hire a lawyer who will present concrete evidence and prudent cross examinations in order to convince the Jury to rule in favour of their client. At the end, judicial deliberations lead to a final verdict that all parties must agree or appeal. When the opposition party in Ghana (New Patriotic Party) refused to accept the outcome of the 2012 elections due to allegations of electoral discrepancies, they resorted to the nation's Supreme Court. For the first six month of 2013, the court sat on the case and finally ruled to validate the legitimacy of the ruling party of John Mahama. In this instance, the law court served as the absolute diplomatic arbiter for promoting peace and stability in Ghana through Judicial deliberation and judgement.

In parliamentary sessions, members are required to defend their constituent and political party through deliberations, negotiations, lobbying and discussions. The objective of tensed parliamentary deliberation and the scrutiny of bills is aimed at coming out with a concrete legal instrument for executive implementation.

Deliberation is a tool and pillar for the furtherance of diplomacy, mitigating a micro conflict and further preventing the outbreak of an explosive war and violent aggressions.

Secondly, the role of impartiality and fearlessness is important for the progress of diplomacy. Diplomacy can promote peace in conflict situations when it projects impartial and intrepid judgements- an unbiased form of mediation. An impartial judgement is a form of judgement that is fair, objective, neutral and unprejudiced. It is for this reason that in a democratic political system, one important pillar of the judicial arm is the principle of impartiality. Judges are mandated and charged by law to be impartial at all times in the course of performing their judicial duties.

A diplomat that has been tasked to mediate and negotiate on political, social or economic issues between and among states must hold to heart the pillar of impartiality. The United Nations (UN) Secretariat that is headed by the Secretary-General is one most important organ that must be impartial at all times. This is due to the simple fact that the UN was established in 1946 as an important global organization to negotiate and promote peace and security among states. Encyclopædia Britannica opines, “the secretary-general serves as the chief administrative officer at all meetings and carries out any functions that those organs entrust to the Secretariat; he also oversees the preparation of the UN's budget. The secretary-general has important political functions, being charged with bringing before the organization any matter that threatens international peace and security. Both the chief spokesperson for the UN and the UN's most visible and authoritative figure in world affairs, the secretary-general often serve as a high-level negotiator”

Parties who are in conflict or organizations competing over a project always require an impartial arbitrator who will take no side but an objective middle way. Impartial arbitration makes people feel secured, safe and satisfied because of their projection that things will be rightly done. Impartiality must be fought with intrepid and fearless attitude; for to be truly impartial is to be truly bold and fearless in your judgements.


Thirdly, diplomacy ought to be essentially persistent to perform; endure to the last resort until a solution is met in a political confrontation, economic hitches or social upheavals. To be persistent is to be determined to do something in spite of its difficulties especially when people are against your agenda or ambition.

Diplomacy in its micro sense helps people in a local environment or society to resolve their disagreements amiably and amicably. Friends and foes engage one another to solve their differences. Native societies were known to quibble over matters that could have been easily resolved. The struggle over land ownership, chieftaincy succession and the expansion of native kingdoms have all contributed to several conflicts among ethnic groups in Africa before the coming of the Europeans- even in Europe's own history and Asia- not forgetting the period leading to colonial rule in Africa.

When antagonizing situations are successfully resolved in a diplomatic way at the local or native level; it automatically influences peace and stability in the larger society. Micro diplomacy helps to stimulate a harmonious environment in a small scale society but a macro view of diplomacy takes a larger approach in supporting, assisting and promoting peace and unity among nations, states, international organizations and the global world at large. Since the economic, social, political, cultural and the religious sectors of the globe are not free from conflicts, incongruities and discrepancies, the UN has served as a global watchdog with the agenda of promoting macro diplomacy among member states. It is our collective responsibility in our homes, communities, regions, societies and nations to tackle our internal micro conflicts with micro diplomacy and the macro conflicts will become an easy deal. So far as we struggle to resolve our internal conflicts, we shall remain perplexed about the solutions to the large externalities.

Diplomacy must effectively exist to maintain a persistent precedent- dealing with confronting issues without throwing in the towel of defeat. Persistence helps diplomats not to be discouraged, disappointed or disheartened in their duties but courageous and confidence at all times. Diplomats must be very bold to present tough decisions in the course of dialoguing a third party diplomacy among contending parties. We are all diplomats whether local or international if we mediate for peace in any form of conflict.

Today, the UN is fighting so hard through diplomacy to bring the Syrian government and opposition rebels to peaceful diplomatic terms. The peace talks on Syria taking place in Switzerland may seem intolerable but the arbiters must be persistent and they will surely perform. The UN mediator on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, is seeking to speak to the two parties separately and also meet them in a room on the way forward towards a lasting peace. In dealing with the parties, the UN must ensure a high level of impartiality through dialogue and deliberation in order to select unbiased diplomats and diplomatic policies to hit the nail of peace right on its head.

Fourthly, policies and decisions emerging through diplomacy must be lucid and legitimate at all times. The word 'Lucid' defines the manner in which things must be expressed or articulated clearly and transparent for easy understanding.

Legitimacy on the other hand is the quality of making something valid, reasonable and acceptable according to law. Drawing from these definitions, the fourth pillar I find as vital in furthering the course and success of diplomacy.

A diplomatic policy must not aim at killing and massacring the civic population, destroying public properties, genocide, invading sovereign states unlawfully or setting up ambiguous and hypocritical local and foreign standards. Though diplomacy could sometimes be forced into coercion in extreme situations especially against some recalcitrant rebels; it must be done so extremely with the backing of international law and precedents.


A diplomat, in performing his or her functions whether in writing or speech must ensure that the results are lucid and legitimate. A lucid diplomatic policy aids clearness, transparency, timely and explicit judgement. It must be based on the standard rules, norms and principles that apply among sovereign states and legally recognized actors.

The fifth point I find intriguing in my quest to contribute to the literature on the success of diplomacy is the role of objectivity and optimism. The key word in this fifth pillar is 'optimism' which defines the feeling and expectation that things will be good and successful in any situation. In diplomatic terms, no matter the unbearable nature of the conditions of the time or the insurmountable state of a problem, conflict, disagreement or a war situation; diplomacy must develop an ideal therapy of objective optimism in dealing with the situation.

Diplomats at either the micro or macro level should not be carried away in despair by the symptoms of the obstructions they are dealing with. Their mindset or mental view must be based on the solid notion that negotiations and deliberations will surely make things fairly better and lead to a lasting solution. Problems have starting points and inevitable endings but only a persistent objective optimist will reap the fruits at the results. Objective optimism must be attitude exemplified by the organizers and negotiators of peace talks that seeks to find an everlasting solution to a conflict situation, war or antagonism.

The sixth letter in the word diplomacy is 'M'- and it brings to light the fact that diplomacy must be magnanimous and promote meaningful missions. 'Magnanimity' simply means to be generous, compassionate and forgiven towards an antagonizing enemy or a rival party.

The challenge of reciprocating a magnanimous character among contending and rivalry groups in firebrand disagreements is what has led to flames of conflicts in our world today. For instance, let's take terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and Taliban in the Middle East, Al-Shabab in Somalia and Boko-Haram in Nigeria; they are so much deficient with the virtues of magnanimity to the extent that, their sole agenda is to inhumanely attack, threaten and terrorize their so called blacklisted enemies. These groups have made states unstable, killed innocent civilians and destroyed infrastructural facilities of the world states.

For Diplomacy to be efficient and effective, parties must be magnanimous enough to resolve their disagreement. Further, diplomatic decision should be meaningful enough, not only to diplomatic actors or organizations but most especially to contending parties involved as well as the social environment in which they represent. Diplomatic missions existing in the sectors today are also very important and must be strengthened and resourced by states and financial organizations to perform effectively and efficiently.

They “provide public services for their nationals, including acting as a notary public, providing electoral registration, issuing passports and papers for military conscription, referring injured or sick nationals to local physicians and lawyers, and ensuring nondiscriminatory treatment for those charged with or imprisoned for crimes”. (Encyclopædia Britannica: Diplomacy, 1980)

The seventh fascinating pillar in promoting the process of diplomacy, peace and stability is the requirement of altruistic and adjusting nature. Altruism is an unselfish character and devotion for the welfare of others- caring about the needs and happiness of other people more than oneself. If only political leaders can truly think about the welfare of their civil population more than themselves; if only the military can be compassionate with civilians in the process of executing a military command- if only terrorist groups could consider the welfare of the feeble population in their quest to carry out their terrorist agenda- if only suicide bombers can examine the worth of human life- if only states will be careful to consider the welfare of other states before formulating their foreign policies- if only actors in the international system could be altruistic and adjusting; then peaceful diplomacy will always win the fight over war.

Constant conferencing is the eight important point in the bid to shape the process and course of diplomacy. Conferencing is simply the strategic meeting between two or more persons or groups to formally discuss and deliberate on issues of contention and sometimes disagreements in order to find a peaceful and lasting solution. There are several conferences in the history of the world that aimed at resolving sensitive issues of concern to states and though some failed to achieve their intended objective, others yielded significant results. Summits are organized by international organizations like the UN; where heads of states, foreign ministers of countries and sometimes professional diplomats meet in order to engage in bilateral and multilateral talks on issues of concern.

As Encyclopædia Britannica clearly states, “international organizations play several roles in multilateral negotiations, including sponsoring conferences…, the Arab League, and the EU attempt to create a unified policy for their members. Regular meetings of the UN, its agencies, and regional organizations provide forums for parliamentary diplomacy, oratory, propaganda, and negotiation. International bureaucracies negotiate with each other and with individual states”.

The role of constant conferencing in the cycle of diplomacy can never be underestimated no matter its historical failures or successes. For instance, in the post-world war I era, several conferences were organized and treaties signed such as the Paris Peace Conference subscribed by the Allied powers in order to prevent another world war. These constant conferencing led to the establishment of a league of nations whose mandate was to construct an open diplomatic policy to promote peace and stability in the world, heal the wounds of the First World War and prevent another war. Though, constant conferencing failed to prevent the Second World War, it served as the foundation for the setting up of the UN that has greatly helped in promoting global peace today.

Conference diplomacy must set up a form of third party diplomacy where diplomats will serve as the block of intermediary between the two main contending groups just as the diplomat and chronicler Philippe de Commynes wrote in the 15th century, “Two great princes who wish to establish good personal relations should never meet each other face to face, but ought to communicate through good and wise emissaries”.

Finally, it is important to note that the maintenance of a prudent status quo is never out of place in organizational development. An organization that succeeds through the policy of rigorous bureaucracy must yield only to that yardstick but when the society begins to change; organizational policies must also change to meet the new conditions. It is also important that Diplomacy is strengthened on the pillars of yielding to a fruitful yardstick. The condition in a particular society sets up a yardstick for individuals, groups and organizations- and diplomacy must be executed carefully and prudently to meet those conditions.

The reasons for the development of conflicts differ from one country or society to the other. The past Liberian civil war differs from the Angola- the recent Ivorian civil war was caused by electoral disputes but that of Rwanda was caused by political assassination, leading to an explosive ethnic cleansing between the Hutu's and Tutsi's. The quibbling in Palestine, borders on the ownership of land but that of Syria is all about political succession.

Hence, it is important to avoid obstinate diplomacy and embrace a yielding diplomacy based on the yardstick of the present contending issue or environment. Consider an ideal situation where these principles are religiously executed fully- peace will never run low in our lifeboat.

• The episode three will be focusing on “the Historical and Modern spheres of Diplomatic engagements”.- [Samson Agbelengor]

References
Diplomacy. (1980). Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica.

Nations, League of. (1980). Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica.

Syria Geneva II peace talks witness bitter exchanges. Middle East (22 January 2014). BBC Online News, London: British Broadcasting Corporation.

United Nations (UN). (1980). Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica.

Vietnam War. (1980). Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica.

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