Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Akin Iwilade

The globalization era is still rapidly unfolding. It may therefore be difficult to say for sure what diplomacy may look like in the next few decades. One may however safely predict that tensions will continue to rise along the fault lines defined by cultural civilizations as a consequence of the tendency of globalization to deny the specificities of relatively weak regions. Diplomacy will therefore have to focus increasingly on proactive measures to forestall the degeneration into armed conflict. Diplomacy is also likely to have to evolve to reflect the increasing salience of non state actors. For instance, diplomats will have to learn how to negotiate with highly irregular foes like terrorists. Economic matters will also likely increase in relevance. There is also the possibility that multilateral diplomacy, to accommodate the increasing cosmopolitan character of the international political system, will become much more important in the coming period. Above all, diplomacy in the era of globalization will inevitably mirror the very many contradictions of the period. It will create new areas of conflict and at the same time improve cooperation.

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