When you find yourself at the end of the “diplomatic food chain” you start to take more interest in what is diplomacy and how it affects you, and then decide to take the New Diplomacy module to try and make sense of it all…
So by applying the knowledge on diplomacy I have gained through this module so far, to my experiences of living in the UK as a foreigner and my dealings with the Polish Embassy in London, I have tried to have a look at the contemporary relevance of the “old” diplomacy.
The function of diplomacy is to maintain relations between states. This can be achieved in many ways, and many more are available to contemporary diplomats than in the past. The traditional diplomatic system was designed to fulfil its function via certain tasks, however over the years a large number of these tasks had become redundant. As the world changes the function of diplomacy remains, what changes are the methods. So we can’t say that the “old” diplomacy is not relevant anymore, as certain aspects of the system still serve some purpose, but we can see that its role has changed and it will most likely continue to do so.
In the recent years Polish Embassy in London became more of an “outreach of bureaucracy” than “outpost of diplomacy” of Poland in the UK.
With the development of new communications technologies and super-fast travel, the need for a plenipotentiary representative has virtually disappeared. Most high level negotiations between the states are being led by their foreign secretaries, in person or via any mode of communication. In any case the Ambassador has no decision- making powers, and more often than not, is completely excluded from the negotiations but only informed of the outcomes.
This basically brings the Embassy to the role of B&B. It hosts the government representative, and maybe throws a small “Ambassadors Party” in their name. This was exactly the case a few days ago, when Polish Foreign Affairs Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, visited London to meet with UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Polish Foreign Affairs Minister visits London.
Radoslaw Sikorski during international conference on Afghanistan in London 28/01/2010
However Embassy’s role in the day-to-day affairs of the polish citizens living in the UK was significantly increased. According to the 2001 census there were 60.000 polish nationals living in the UK and today there are estimated half a million to a million, depending on which paper you read. However two years ago Polish Consulate in London was closed and the Embassy’s “Consular Department” took over its function. So these days the Embassy is constantly besieged by queues of people – either wanting to vote or needing a passport for their new baby.
The voting Queue - video
The Ambassadors themselves have also changed. They are no longer “born into the job” well educated aristocrats. These days not all Ambassadors have diplomatic experience, or at least knowledge of the diplomatic protocol, prior to taking their post. In most countries Ambassadors and Consuls are nominated by the president or the government, therefore in most cases they are “friends and family” of the ruling party, and often change after it loses power. This can lead to very “undiplomatic” situations and reduce the Ambassadors to the positions of pawns in their country's internal political game.
Disagreement over ambassadorial nominations created a “Mexican Standoff” between the Polish Prime Minister and President last year, as they were representing opposing parties. In Poland the Prime Minister proposes candidates for diplomatic positions and the President actually signs nominations for their posts. As the President wanted his favourite to be nominated for a specific post, he refused to sign all the other nominations until it happened. But the Prime Minister didn't put forward that person for nomination.
Ambassadors - President's hostages
Prime Minister, Donald Tusk and President, Lech Kaczynski.
So for a few months there were no polish Ambassadors in quite a few countries, yet the diplomatic relations between Poland and those states continued. This showed that, to a certain degree, we could do without the “old” diplomacy and its tools, as in the world today we have ways of replacing it successfully.
Indeed, the role and methods of diplomacy has changed. There is greater emphasis on assisting their nationals abroad and the ‘outreach of bureaucracy’ is expected by both long-term and short-term visitors. It is assumed that reducing running costs is a driver for closures and mergers of departments.
ReplyDeleteResponsibilities and the influence of ambassadors vary between countries and are largely determined by their governance procedures at home. The employment of friends and families into diplomatic positions is generally bad practice. Equally, the personality and experience of the incumbent is important and often reflects their degree of participation in both high and low level negotiations.
Ultimately, Poland along with all other states not only enjoys the traditional pageantry that is associated with old diplomacy but also realize the need for a modern diplomatic service.