Is there a Crisis in/of Diplomacy?

Buzzword like Globalisation, Network or Information
Society and Information Age seem to be indispensable
in current contribution concerning foreign
affairs. Indeed, the world has never been more
interdependent and connected. In this context,
governments and think tanks around the world
recently re-evaluate the functions and purpose
of diplomatic services by identifying the
constituting factors of change and formulate
according recommendations and policies with the aim
to cope with an accelerated ever-changing
environment. In this context, this paper aims to
identify the impact of Information and Communication
Technology and the Information Revolution upon
diplomacy. Recent studies indicate that institutions
concerned with diplomacy are not equipped to fulfil
their responsibilities within the new environment.
After elaborating on the major changes in the
environment of diplomacy, an (idealistic but
constructive) attempt is made to qualify some of the
assumptions and conclusions of the primary
literature by putting them into a wider perspective.
Finally addressing the question if, and in which
concern, there is a Crisis in/of Diplomacy.

Autorentext

Benedict Winter currently lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.Besides his work as a commnunications consultant at PleonFinancial Communications, Ben enjoys to spend time with hisfamily and friends, to travel the world and to read and thinkgreenfield 42...

Klappentext

Buzzword like Globalisation, Network or Information Society and Information Age seem to be indispensable in current contribution concerning foreign affairs. Indeed, the world has never been more interdependent and connected. In this context, governments and think tanks around the world recently re-evaluate the functions and purpose of diplomatic services by identifying the constituting factors of change and formulate according recommendations and policies with the aim to cope with an accelerated ever-changing environment. In this context, this paper aims to identify the impact of Information and Communication Technology and the Information Revolution upon diplomacy. Recent studies indicate that institutions concerned with diplomacy are not equipped to fulfil their responsibilities within the new environment. After elaborating on the major changes in the environment of diplomacy, an (idealistic but constructive) attempt is made to qualify some of the assumptions and conclusions of the primaryliterature by putting them into a wider perspective. Finally addressing the question if, and in which concern, there is a Crisis in/of Diplomacy.