Volume 18 (2023)
Issue 1
Issue 1 at Brill.comContents
Maren Hofius
Abstract
How do diplomatic practices change under crisis conditions? To explore the possible effects of crisis on diplomatic standards of competence, the article zooms in on the modes of knowledge production of frontline diplomats in crisis. An illustrative case study of European Union (EU) diplomatic practice in Ukraine during the Euromaidan revolution reveals two different modes of knowledge production among members of the local EU diplomatic ‘community of practice’: a rule-following and reflexive mode. The article finds that the reflexive mode of knowledge production surfaces in times of crisis and reflects a heretofore under-acknowledged standard of excellence, the ‘ethics of care’ towards the host state’s citizens. Foregrounding the ‘ethics of care’ as a standard of competence sheds new light on diplomatic ethics and advances International Practice Theory’s (IPT) discussion about the normativity of practices and the contested nature of diplomatic competence.
Jens Meijen
Abstract
Populism is traditionally understood as a challenge to diplomacy. This article reconsiders that notion through an illustrative case of regional sub-state diplomacy. First, it examines how and why populists discredit diplomacy and the international order through four typically populist discursive strategies: crisis discourse, exceptionalism, underdogism and challengerism. Second, it explores why populists may approach regional sub-state diplomacy differently. To illustrate this, it examines the position of Vlaams Belang (a Flemish populist party in Belgium) in the Flemish Parliament Commission for Foreign Policy. It shows that the party discredits state diplomacy while advocating for stronger Flemish diplomacy, implying that the idea of populism as a challenge to diplomacy does not necessarily hold up for regional sub-state diplomacy. As such, the article suggests that the multifarious ways in which populism and diplomacy intersect deserve greater scrutiny and that diplomacy studies should approach populism not as a monolith but as a multi-faceted concept.
Baldur Thorhallsson, Jóna Sólveig Elínardóttir & Anna Margrét Eggertsdóttir
Abstract
This article provides a case study of a small state, Iceland, and its motives for running for a seat on the UN Security Council for the 2009-2010 term, the domestic dispute about the affair, key campaign messages and the campaign strategy. The article fills a gap in the international relations and small state literature on small states’ campaign strategies in UNSC elections. We conclude that the decision to run for a seat and the core message of the campaign were largely based on the quest to enhance Iceland’s status among international actors. However, the country’s lack of resources, limited international engagement and domestic debate about the candidacy became a hindrance. Iceland succeeded in using its smallness to build good momentum for its candidacy but in the end it failed due to weaknesses associated with its small size and its lack of contributions, competence and ideational commitment in the UN.
Kadir Jun Ayhan & Siyeon Jang
Abstract
The people of the two Koreas cannot communicate directly with one another. Since the early 1990s, South and North Korea have allowed a limited number of people-to-people exchanges. In this article, we map the South Korean government’s theories of change regarding inter-Korean exchanges based on policy documents and semi-structured interviews with five high-level Ministry of Unification bureaucrats. We also explore the outcomes of inter-Korean exchanges, building on ten South Korean participants’ insights. Our findings suggest that the primary goals of inter-Korean social and cultural exchanges have been to expand contact between the two Koreas to alleviate the sense of mutual alienation, to increase empathy and, in turn, to reduce tensions and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. Participant interviews reveal that direct interpersonal interaction between South and North Koreans reinforces the idea of a superordinate Korean group identity.
Ieva Birka, Didzis Kļaviņš & Roberts Kits
Abstract
Declaring the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 left thousands of travellers stranded, propelling consular work to the forefront, and testing governments’ capacity to aid their nationals abroad. While all consular departments provided assistance and duty of care (DoC) through information and guidance, some were reactive while others were proactive, and some were willing to make exceptions and engage in pastoral care. Analysis of the Baltic and Nordic countries’ reactions to the initial outbreak of COVID-19 shows us how DoC diverged in practice, and to note the transition of consular affairs into consular diplomacy and its interplay with facets of digital, citizen-centric and diaspora diplomacy. The conclusion is that all eight countries exceeded normal consular practice and exhibited some level of pastoral DoC, with Latvia and Lithuania exhibiting high levels of pastoral care. In parallel, Lithuania and Denmark, in their responses, effectively incorporated innovative elements of digital and diaspora diplomacy.
Elif Ezgi Keleş
Book reviewed:
-
Mary Manjikian (2020). Gender, Sexuality, and Intelligence Studies: The Spy in the Closet. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-030-39894-1 279 pp. €42.79 (eBook)
Richard Fosu
Book reviewed:
-
Emmanuel H.D. De Groof and Micha Wiebusch, eds., International Law and Transitional Governance: Critical Perspectives (Abingdon: Routledge, 2020). Pp. 165. £44.00 (Hardcover). ISBN: 978-0-367-17810-9.
Emad A. Ayasreh
Book reviewed:
-
R. S. Zaharna, Boundary Spanners of Humanity: Three Logics of Communications and Public Diplomacy for Global Collaboration (New York: Oxford University Press, 2022). Pp. 253. $24.20 (epub). ISBN: 978-0-1909-3030-1.
Eva Froneberg
Book reviewed:
-
Leonardo Arriola, Martha Johnson and Melanie Phillips, eds., Women and Power in Africa: Aspiring Campaigning, and Governing. Oxford Studies in African Politics and International Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021). Pp. xiv+245. £75.00 (Hardcover and eBook). ISBN: 978-0-19-289807-4 (Hardcover). IBSN: 978-0-19-265296-6 (eBook).
Lise H. Andersen
Book reviewed:
-
Hana Alhashimi, Andres Fiallo, Toni-Shae Freckleton, Mona Ali Khalil, Vahd Mulachela, and Jonathan Viera, eds., The Future of Diplomacy after COVID-19: Multilateralism and the Global Pandemic (Abingdon: Routledge, 2021). Pp. 159. £29.99 (eBook). ISBN: 978-1-003-16680-1.
Danielle Wolff
Book reviewed:
-
Miia Huttunen, Politicised Cinema: Post-War Film, Cultural Diplomacy and UNESCO (Abingdon: Routledge, 2022). Pp. xii+165. £120.00 (Hardcover). ISBN: 978-1032120003. £33.29 (eBook). ISBN: 978-1003-222606.
Giulia Papapietro
Book reviewed:
- Kirsten Haack. Women’s Access, Representation and Leadership in the United Nations. Gender and Politics (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan/Springer Nature, 2022). Pp. 222. €103.99 (Hardback). €85.59 (eBook). ISBN: 978-3-030-83536-1 (Hardback). ISBN: 978-3-030-83537-8 (eBook).
Diletta M. L. Alparone
Book reviewed:
- Sue Boyd. Not Always Diplomatic: An Australian Woman’s Journey through International Affairs (Crawley: University of Western Australia Publishing, 2020). Pp. 304 pp. A$29.99. ISBN: 978-1-76080-149-6 (Paperback).
Publication date: December 2022
Issues 2-3: Space Diplomacy: The Final Frontier of Theory and Practice
Special issue edited by Mai’a K. Davis Cross and Saadia M. Pekkanen
Issues 2-3 at Brill.comMai'a K. Davis and Saadia M. Pekkanen
Abstract
A quantum leap is under way in space as a domain of human activity. The global space economy has rapidly reached almost USD450 billion in size and is projected to grow to over USD1 trillion by the 2040s. There are hundreds of actors involved, from space agencies to private companies to start-ups. Over 70 countries have space programmes and 14 have launch capabilities. These developments have involved intense transnational and international co-operation and competition, across both the public and private sectors. With such rapid changes underway, this article takes stock of how these developments impact international relations. Overall, this is the first special issue in the field of international relations to use theories of diplomacy to bring to light the various ways in which experts, scientists, astronauts, space enthusiasts and professional diplomats, among others, have shaped the formal and informal interactions among states in this key area of foreign policy.
William Stewart and Jason Dittmer
Abstract
This article explores the role of materiality in space diplomacy through the example of orbital docking technology by tracing its evolution from the early days of the space age to the International Space Station — and beyond. Drawing on the use of assemblage theory in political geography, this article argues for a ‘more-than-human’ approach to space diplomacy to supplement and provide an alternative to conventional approaches to diplomacy studies. By conceptualising the International Space Station as a diplomatic assemblage with which the multinational partners become enmeshed, we investigate how materials, specifically androgynous orbital docking technology, fostered co-operation and peace in the wake of the Cold War and which continues today.
Kunhan Li and Maximilian Mayer
Abstract
This article compares two central pillars of China’s space programme and observes that Chinese space diplomacy is not uniform regarding international scientific co-operation either in its approaches or in results. In the case of the Chinese Space Station programme, the China National Space Administration went through existing United Nations (UN) channels and successfully attracted international partners. However, the International Lunar Research Station has avoided UN channels and used national and bilateral platforms. This bifurcation in approaches and results offers an intriguing puzzle concerning international co-operation: practices of institutionalised multilateral co-operation and areas of state-centric bilateral co-operation co-exist in this case and further complicate the issue of space diplomacy. To propose a potential explanation, it is argued here that a crucial intermediate variable — institutional density — requires further theorising, as it seems to influence strategic choices about space diplomacy, which may lead to success or failure.
Saadia M. Pekkanen
Abstract
This article probes Japan’s space diplomacy in a world returned to great power competition. Today, Japan’s space diplomacy manifests in a wide variety of contexts at the global, regional and bilateral levels. The principal argument is that the Japanese state is responding to gathering external threats through diplomacy that communicates, persuades and bargains in the country’s science, economic and military space interests. This proactive positioning allows Japan to situate its advanced technologies in the context of fierce economic competition, cultivate an image as a pacifist and responsible actor in the turbulent international order, and set pragmatic expectations about building peaceful prospects in outer space.
Marianne Riddervold
Abstract
The European Union (EU) has become a key player in space, second only to that of the USA. This article discusses what type of diplomatic actor the EU is in space by exploring whether it contributes to peaceful co-operation or if the EU — due to increasing geopolitical competition on Earth — is developing into a traditional realist actor. For this purpose, it applies three analytically distinct models of EU space policies, applicable also to other Global Commons areas. It finds that the EU does not treat space as an area of geopolitical competition. Instead, it contributes to space diplomacy through its focus on regulating and institutionalising space activities. However, rather than being driven by ‘the space flight idea’, the EU is committed to the peaceful development of space mainly for economic, strategic and societal purposes, in line with what one would expect of a liberal institutionalist actor.
Nikita Chiu
Abstract
This article seeks to contribute to the burgeoning debate on space diplomacy by examining the historic interplay between diplomatic discussions on outer space and nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. It studies three significant cases since the Cold War, when space technologies constituted a significant topic in diplomatic exchanges and in advancing foreign policy objectives related to global arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. The cases trace early negotiations between Washington and Moscow on using satellites to detect nuclear detonations, to multilateral attempts at establishing an International Satellite Monitoring Agency, and conclude with a study on the use of satellite imagery in inspections under the auspices of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq.
Nancy Riordan, Miloslav Machoň and Lucia Csajková
Abstract
The growth of human activity in outer space is attracting more International Relations (IR) scholar’s attention, enabling an understanding of the involvement of specific groups of actors and the dynamics of political negotiations that lead to concluding agreements on using outer space for peaceful purposes. This article provides analysis based on the triangulation of qualitative data gathered via document analysis and in-depth semi-structured expert interviews to gain insight into the involvement of the actors responsible for the negotiations that led to the Artemis Accords and their diplomatic communication style. The results identified different uses of public and private diplomatic communication for advancing norms of behaviour and transparency. Negotiators used public diplomatic communication in order to influence foreign governments on the need for norms of behaviour and transparency to further peaceful space exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Private diplomatic communication facilitated the inclusion of commercial partners.
Mariel Borowitz
Abstract
Over the past 70 years, the world has established an impressive history of international co-operation on weather monitoring via satellite, but this co-operation has not always been consistent. Following the launch of the first weather satellites, an international World Weather Watch system was established, and the United States engaged in bilateral co-operation and data exchange with the Soviet Union. However, more recently, co-operation in this area has been more challenging. While the World Weather Watch continues to operate, there were questions in the 2010s about the United States’ ability to maintain its full contribution to the international weather monitoring system, and suggestions to pursue bilateral co-operation with China in this area were spurned by Congress. This article investigates the variation in diplomatic efforts in this area, focusing on the key actors involved in space diplomacy, the underlying goals of space diplomacy efforts and the processes by which space diplomacy occurs.
Jan Wörner
Abstract
After the Cold War and the race in space, space activities increasing became a geopolitical arena of co-operation. This article is based on my personal experience gathered over fifteen years leading European space institutions: in 2007 I became the Chairman of the Executive Board of the German Aerospace Center. In that position I led the German delegation to the European Space Agency (ESA). From 2015 to 2021 I had the honour and pleasure of being the Director General of ESA. During the whole period from 2007 to today I have had various political interactions that developed my current mindset. Even in times of geopolitical difficulties we need some aspects of international interaction; space can play this role.
Rick W. Sturdevant
Abstract
International military alliances have developed to deter potential foes from initiating war and, when deterrence fails, to defeat enemies. From the earliest days of spaceflight, US military leaders have partnered with other nations for various purposes. With the space domain becoming more congested and contested in the early 21st century¸ the US defence establishment has begun expanding and strengthening space-related relationships with like-minded international partners to deter irresponsible, adversarial space behaviour and perpetuate peaceful uses of the outer space domain for civil and commercial purposes.
Naoko Yamazaki
Abstract
Intergovernmental space diplomacy has played an essential role in human space activities. The International Space Station of low-Earth orbit and the Artemis programme to explore the moon and beyond are essential examples. Current noteworthy developments that are influencing space diplomacy include the following: (1) the number of governments that engage in human space activities has been increasing; and (2) inter-industry and grassroots co-operation has had a significant impact. We astronauts, and I believe anybody who aims to explore space, appreciate the value of norms in space, which assure a safe environment for our activities and secure future possibilities to expand our frontier to the moon and beyond.
Frank White
Abstract
Astronauts looking at Earth from orbital or lunar missions often say they cannot see borders and boundaries that mean so much to surface dwellers, an essential feature of the ‘Overview Effect’, a term the author coined to describe the identity shift that takes place for many space travellers. What does this portend for the future? Should we simply forget borders, since they are merely products of our minds? What about diplomacy, which is all about borders and boundaries insofar as it is about inter-national relations. Will the art of diplomacy change as nation-states send more residents to explore the rest of the solar ecosystem? This question seems more relevant than ever, while war rages, largely over borders and boundaries, in the heart of Europe. We consider how the ‘Overview Effect’ influences communication, persuasion, and bargaining among state and non-state actors active in determining the shape of our future spacefaring civilisation.
Publication date: May 2023
Issue 4
Issue 4 at Brill.comMarkus Kornprobst
Abstract
This article introduces the concept of diplomatic peace. It starts by developing a heuristic frame for identifying understandings of peace embraced by the actors we study. This frame encompasses three faces of peace — restraint, compromise and polylogue — and further differentiates different degrees of each of these faces (induced, co-operative and categorical restraint; profitable, principled and iterated compromise; extended, communal and deliberative polylogue). Then, this heuristic is applied to key United Nations General Assembly declarations and conventions that have passed unanimously since 1946. Studying how diplomats define peace yields remarkable results. Diplomats make far-reaching promises about the kind of peace they purport to pursue, strongly endorsing co-operative restraint, principled compromises and deliberative polylogues. The added value of this article is threefold: it systematically enquires into the nexus of diplomacy and peace, develops a multifaceted concept of peace, and reminds scholars and practitioners of how far-reaching already existing diplomatic promises of peace are.
Anna-Lena Rüland
Abstract
The American Association for the Advancement of Science and the British Royal Society’s science diplomacy taxonomy has received much criticism. Some argue that there is a lack of empirical evidence to underpin the taxonomy’s three science diplomacy dimensions. This particularly applies to the third dimension, science for diplomacy, and its effectiveness. Others criticise the taxonomy for painting the picture of compliant scientists who would discard their academic ideals to support foreign policy objectives. Against the backdrop of these two points of criticism, this study investigates if scientists are willing to support political objectives through science collaborations. It also examines under which conditions science for diplomacy is effective. Using the epistemic community approach, expert interviews and a case study, the study argues that science for diplomacy is effective if it is promoted by a close-knit epistemic community and shows that scientists oppose the instrumentalisation of scientific collaboration for political purposes.
Louis Clerc
Abstract
Social imaginaries carried by the entertainment industry matter for understanding how the general public makes sense of complex social phenomena. Mass culture is a representation of pre-existing ideas on international politics, rooted in space and time, and a constitutive element of the social and political world. Mass entertainment, as well as massively popular forms of popular culture such as video games, are only now entering the field of vision of scholars interested in cultural representations of international relations. This article contributes to this trend by looking at visions of diplomacy present in a global mass entertainment franchise: Hasbro’s My Little Pony. Behind the lighter aspects of a show created for young children lies a fictional universe with elements of diplomacy and international relations. The article insists on the importance of visions of early 21st-century American unipolar order and a liberal view of international politics in the show’s world.
Meilinda Sari Yayusman, Prima Nurahmi Mulyasari, Argus Trihartono and Gusnelly
Abstract
Many Indonesian diasporas in the Netherlands have established culinary businesses for both economic purposes and out of a sense of nostalgia for their home country by emphasising Indonesian food authenticity and the richness of spices in their new home. The Netherlands, with its strong historical links with Indonesia, plays a pivotal role in Indonesian gastrodiplomacy. However, the Indonesian government has not yet paid attention to the importance of harnessing the existence of diasporas and targeting the Netherlands as a strategic country of implementation in the context of strengthening Indonesian gastrodiplomacy. This article suggests that Indonesian diasporas, through representation in restaurants, could be a ‘frontline messenger’ in introducing Indonesian foods to the Netherlands and be the anchor of gastrodiplomacy. While Indonesia is now strategising gastrodiplomacy, diasporas are of the utmost importance in winning the hearts and minds of the public.
Ausra Park
Abstract
Since 1991 women have broken many political ‘glass ceilings’ in Lithuania by getting elected to the presidency, the prime ministership and several ‘power’ ministries. The number of women diplomats has also steadily increased, reaching solid representation in the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (LMFA). However, women are still markedly underrepresented at the ambassadorial level and the LMFA’s upper ranks. Using historical and feminist institutionalisms this article first examines the LMFA’s gendered origins. Then, drawing on a newly collected ambassadorial dataset and empirical analysis, it presents the most comprehensive socio-demographic profiling of Lithuanian ambassadors to reveal the extent of diversity and women’s representation in Lithuania’s foreign service. Through empirical mapping and application of a gender in diplomacy theoretical approach, it identifies where women (and men) are located in the country’s diplomacy and compare — for confirmation or refutation — observed patterns in Lithuania’s ambassadorial appointments against those discerned globally.
Deniz Kuru
Abstract
This article focuses on a rather neglected aspect of diplomacy, located at the intersection of practices, rituals and performances: state funeral ceremonies. Shifting the emphasis onto the dimension of international attendance, considering international representatives and their hierarchical positions at these state funerals, the article aims to present a novel means to analyse states’ international standing, offering a new contextualisation next to the prevailing approaches that have underlined the numbers of embassies, international memberships or bilateral treaties in defining these points. I first discuss the role of state funerals in international politics, pointing to their quasi-absence from the literature. After offering a theoretical framework with relevant recent contributions on practices, rituals and performances, and underlining state funerals’ role for and within the international society, I present four exploratory case studies that pinpoint varying aspects of state funerals: those for Nelson Mandela, Helmut Kohl, Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.
Jane Knight
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to explore the contemporary role of international higher education, research and innovation (IHERI) in international relations (IR). Using an interdisciplinary and conceptual approach, it examines how diplomacy and higher education scholars understand and label the rationales, strategies and contributions of IHERI to IR. The findings indicate that multiple terms are used, resulting in terminology chaos and confusion. The concept of knowledge diplomacy is proposed, defined and analysed as a comprehensive term to frame the role of IHERI in IR. The similarities and differences between knowledge diplomacy and related terms such as cultural, public, science and education diplomacy and soft power are examined. Issues that require further investigation are identified, with special attention given to the differences between using a knowledge diplomacy approach versus a soft power approach to understand the role of IHERI in IR.
Philip Nash
Book reviewed:
- Catherine Grace Katz, The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and
Harrimans: A Story of Love and War (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020).
Pp. xiii+400. $28.00 (Hardback). ISBN: 9780358117858.
Cecile Divya Lorrillard
Book reviewed:
- Philip Nash, Breaking Protocol: America’s First Female Ambassadors, 1933-1964 (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2020). Pp. 304. $45.00 (Hardback). ISBN: 978-0-81-317839-4.
Keith Prushankin
Book reviewed:
- Graeme P. Herd, Understanding Russian Strategic Behavior: Imperial Strategic Culture and Putin’s Operational Code. Contemporary Security Studies (London: Taylor and Francis, 2022). Pp. 262. £34.99 (Paperback). ISBN: 978-0-42-926198-5.
Antonio Alejo
Book reviewed:
- V. Bravo and M. de Moya, eds., Latin American Diaspora Public Diplomacy (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022). Pp. 332. €135.19 (Hardback). ISBN: 978-3-030-74564-6.
Marko Kovačević
Book reviewed:
- Godfrey Baldacchino and Anders Wivel, eds. Handbook on the Politics of Small States (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2020). Pp. 448. £160.00 (Hardback). ISBN: 978-1-78-811292-5.
Lucie Belzile
Book reviewed:
- Tomáš Weiss and Geoffrey Edwards, eds., Small States and Security in Europe: Between National and International Policymaking (Abingdon: Taylor and Francis, 2021). Pp. xv+225. £96.00 (Hardback). ISBN: 978-0-36-753551-3.
Iris Jugo Núñez-Hoyo
Book reviewed:
- Sónia Pedro Sebastião and Susana de Carvalho Spínola, eds., Diplomacy, Organisations and Citizens: A European Communication Perspective (Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2022). Pp. 354. € 118.78 (Hardback and eBook). ISBN: 978-3-03-081876-0 (Hardback). ISBN: 978-3-03-081877-7 (eBook).
M. Hasim Tekines
Book reviewed:
- Peter Martin. China’s Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021). Pp. 272 pp. £21.99 (Hardback). ISBN: 978-0-197-51370-5.
Jens Meijen
Book reviewed:
- Olga Baysha, Democracy, Populism, and Neoliberalism in Ukraine: On the Fringes of the Virtual and the Real (London: Routledge, 2021). Pp. 130. £35.99 (Hardcover). ISBN: 978-1-03-213231-0.
Nicolas Verbeek
Book reviewed:
- Corneliu Bjola and Ruben Zaiotti, eds. Digital Diplomacy and International Organisations: Autonomy, Legitimacy and Contestation (Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2020). Pp. 320. £96.00 (Hardcover), £27.99 (eBook). ISBN: 978-0-36-746999-3 (Hardcover), ISBN 978-1-00-303272-4.
Ahmet Serdar Günaydin
Book reviewed:
- Daisaku Higashi. Inclusivity in Mediation and Peacebuilding: UN, Neighboring States, and Global Powers (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2022). Pp. 192. £20 (eBook). ISBN: 9781800880528.