Understanding Diplomacy

The concept of diplomacy has drawn a lot of attention over the years, and has been the front burner of heated debate among scholars of political science and international relations. Although no general definition of diplomacy can be very satisfactory or revealing, multiplicities of definitions have arisen to create a lucid and vivid description of the concept. In the opinion of K.M Panikkar, diplomacy used in relation to international policies, is the art of forwarding one’s interest in relation to other countries. Quincy Wright opined that diplomacy in the popular sense means the employment of tact and shrewdness and skills in any negotiation or transaction. Often times the terms diplomacy and foreign policy are misunderstood or misconceptualized, this shouldn’t be the case as the two are sharply different terms in use and in application. The term diplomacy should therefore not be confused with foreign policy. The Foreign Policy of a state, according to J.R Childs, is the substance of foreign relations, whereas diplomacy is the process by which policy is carried out.