Professional Diplomacy Diplomatic Corps Diplomatic Corps is

Professional Diplomacy: Diplomatic Corps

Diplomatic Corps is the family of professional agents with the similar package of problems to solve, the same conditions of being, the crowd of local officials to deal with. Being the graduates of some prestigious universities of their countries they share a lot of common interests with the potential of mutual attraction and inspiration for multilateral interaction. Being professionals and sharp persons they can easily get along with each other without any conventions which are in place when one meets businessmen, sportsmen or men of culture. Meetings among the diplomats can be easy and comfortable at the tennis courts or International Clubs. Some problems can be easily sorted out on the phone. In some countries Diplomatic Corps have some regular informal meetings that contribute to setting up a good team. When the diplomats write the analytical records on the developments in the receiving state they can be cooperative with each other on the information and data with the trends and tendencies.

They can also put across the events which are miles away from the country they serve. For example the recent antiterrorist campaign in India will be discussed in many countries with the involvement of the ambassadors of India and Pakistan along the lines how this event can effect the relations between these countries. This is a good chance to look into the possible complications with the Islamic factor as destabilizing vehicles. For the diplomatic corps it is a good chance to look into the positions of the countries and the information for the government to get to the real state of things and strategic planning.

Dean of the Diplomatic Body is the leader of the top ranking diplomats in the country. As the rule he is appointed among the ambassadors with the longest term of stay in the country. The time span is determined from the moment of handing over of the Letters of Credence. The Dean of the Diplomatic body is the first official to be visited by the ambassadors on handing over the Credentials to the State leader. The position of the Dean is the one of a Spokesman on behalf of the Diplomatic Community. What is to be kept in mind for the Dean: a) Exercising his duties of the Dean should not create the conflict of interests with his duties of the ambassador of his countries. b) He should not be the vehicle of influence of the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs. c) Being the Spokesman of the Diplomatic Community he should express the view point of the Diplomatic Community. This is a good chance and privilege to extent the contacts in different VIP circles.

Diplomatic Talks Most of the time spent by the diplomats abroad is related to talks with different people from various walks of life. The first stage is the preparation for the talks as the diplomatic meeting is always a business meeting with the serious topics. As every meeting is unique it requires different sort of arrangement. How are the diplomatic meetings structured? Meetings at the moment of handing over the Letters of Credence – Minister of Foreign Affairs and some other officials: Consolidation of the initial meetings with some detailed talks with the idea to develop the contacts Processing of some information and receiving the pieces of the required stuff. Discussion and sorting out of the practical issues of the bilateral relations and vital International problems Arrangements to opening up and developing negotiations as well as the negotiations.

EMPATHY There are different scenarios of talks and approaches to the diplomatic interactions. The history of Diplomacy tells a lot of falsifications put into effect as the vehicle of politics. The Japanese diplomats were trying to convince their colleagues from the United States that their intentions were quite peaceful when the attack at Pearl Harbor broke out. This is an example of a dirty diplomacy besides from being low range tactical diplomacy. In the end of the day this sort of diplomacy is doomed to be a failure. In the books on diplomacy the top priority is given to be truthful, respectful attitude and correct information because in the long term perspective all the tricks and roles come out with negative effect to the reputation of the people that initiated this sort of policy. So, respect and confidence is the easiest and most comfortable way in diplomacy.

The other negative approach is talking from the position of strength. It can be of help on some occasions, but useless in the long run. So, true, professional and efficient diplomacy provides for confidence, trust and respect. These are the lime stones and basic elements of what diplomacy is. Now we are taking up the technology of the active verbal interaction. As it was mentioned before the key thing concerning the diplomatic talks is the stage before the actual meeting. What should be done as the first step? Definition of the objective or what is to be achieved. It can be self introduction and familiarization; discussion of topic of mutual interest; presentation of the position of your Government; convincing on the some stand point and etc.

The next step is the person whom you are meeting. You should know nearly all if not all on the person in hand. You should consult the people who dealt with him, look through the press coverage and other available sources of information. You should be familiar with his hobbies and other areas he is interested in. One should carefully analyze the place and time of the meeting to comply with the topic and subject matter of the discussion. One diplomat confessed on the tactics of meetings. In this connection he said the following: “When I have a one hour meeting it takes a week for me to get ready. If I have some three hours meeting it takes a day. If I have a meeting with no time limit I am ready now”. These are the distinctions on different types of meeting. Getting closer to the notion “empathy”. In common sense it means “looking at the same thing through the eyes of your partner. Since the topic of your meeting is the subject of the discussion with the arguments from the two involved parties it can be a point of misunderstanding or confusion. The worst scenario is the conflict of interests due to the differences in the view on the same phenomenon.

A diplomat should come up with a good planning. The estimation should be very forward looking with the effect of foreseeing the reaction of your partner. One should make a good assumption as to what can be expected as the final result, to what extend he can be responsive to your initiatives. It should be a very accurate anticipation of what is achievable. The diplomatic talks never provide for some smashing victories or humiliating defeats. The atmosphere of talks should very respectful. One should not interrupt the other and demonstrate the gift of listening.