Posts tagged as:

Diplomacy

Heteropolis Rising: World Order in the 21st Century

January 30, 2012

In the previous post,  I argued that the short-lived era of unipolar American hegemony has given way to  a new international dispensation best characterized as heteropolar rather than multipolar. This metamorphosis may be attributed mainly to a series of colossal strategic misjudgements and the profusion of diverse sources of power and influence globally. [...]

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The Retreat From Internationalism – Part II

November 29, 2011

In the last entry, I tried to illustrate how changes in domestic Canadian politics, in combination with the imposition of capacity reductions on the Department of Foreign Affairs, had contributed to a turn away from this country’s internationalist traditions. Today, I continue that line of inquiry with an exploration of the profound shifts in the [...]

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Diplomacy in the Digital Age

October 13, 2011

Today the contributors to a recently released collection of essays assembled under this title and edited by Janice Stein will gather in Toronto to discuss the lifetime contribution to the diplomatic profession of  former Ambassador to the USA Allan Gotlieb.
It is encouraging to see attention of this nature being directed towards the study of diplomacy. [...]

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Diplomacy, Journalism, and the New Media

September 27, 2011

Over the course of the past few months I have been conducting research for an article on “Digital Diplomacy” and the implications of the “WikiLeaks/Cablegate” revelations for diplomatic practice and international relations. That piece, when finished and peer reviewed, is scheduled to appear in a forthcoming reference text entitled the Oxford Handbook on Modern Diplomacy.
Reflecting [...]

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Libya and the World after Gadhafi: Preliminary Thoughts

August 31, 2011

It is perhaps premature to propose potential conclusions and lessons learned in the immediate wake of the rebel victory over the Gadhafi regime. On the surface, it appears that NATO support for the rebellion assisted materially in achieving the objective of ridding Libya of a widely detested dictator.
In terms of success, this would seem to [...]

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Science Diplomacy: New Day or False Dawn?

June 15, 2011

A few weeks ago in Oslo, Norway, in the company of about 40 other invitees from around the world, I attended an OECD “experts” meeting, sponsored by the Norwegian and German Ministries of Education and Research, on the subject of Science, Technology, Innovation and Global Challenges.
The workshop was predicated upon the shared realization that if  [...]

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Osama and Obama: Turning the Page?

May 2, 2011

The reported killing earlier today of Osama Bin Laden by US special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, is unlikely to prove a game changer for American foreign policy. Secretary Clinton has already suggested as much – the war on terror will continue unabated. Careers, promotions, budgets and bonuses depend on it.
I believe such a commitment to [...]

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The Bottom Line: Thoughts on Commercial and Economic Diplomacy

April 16, 2011

For the past few weeks I have been lecturing and travelling in the UK and Europe with a group of MA candidates in diplomacy and international business. They are studying at the University of East Anglia’s London Academy of Diplomacy, and the subject of my short course is science, technology and international policy.
Even by Canadian [...]

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Five Potential Pitfalls of Western Military Intervention in Libya

March 22, 2011

In a posting penned a couple of weeks ago, I expressed serious reservations  over the growing prospect of a Western military intervention in Libya. A political and diplomatic resolution would have been far preferable.  It remains a mystery in Western capitals how the unenthusiastic consideration of a no-fly-zone somehow morphed, with minimal public or political [...]

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Diplomacy on the Rebound at the Brain Food Buffet

March 21, 2011

From Tuesday through Saturday last week I attended the 52nd annual conference of the International Studies Association (ISA) in Montreal. The theme for this year’s event was Global Governance: Political Authority in Transition.
What does that mean? I still can’t say. But I can attest that this meeting represents one of the very rare occasions during [...]

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Arms and the Man: What’s Next for Libya?

March 3, 2011

“Libya is engaged in a civil war. New protests have broken out in Oman, Bahrain and Yemen. The uprising in Tunisia, the pioneer state of the so-called “Arab Spring,” is entering a second phase. As usual, the amateurish Obama administration has no idea what to do about any of this.
…America has established that its [...]

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Cairo Burning: Implications for the Defence vs. Diplomacy Debate

February 4, 2011

The following commentary, based in part on my “Ferment in North Africa” entry, was posted by the University of Southern California’s Public Diplomacy Blog 02 February:
This is one of those rare, defining moments in world history. In Egypt – as well as Tunisia, Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere – change is unfolding at [...]

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Ferment in North Africa: A Guerrilla Diplomacy Take

February 1, 2011

Stand-off in Tunis.
Riots in Khartoum
Cairo burning.
In the erstwhile global village, which today looks more like an island patchwork of  heavily guarded, gated communities surrounded by an angry sea of seething shantytowns, the relentless forces of globalization continue to transform world politics. Cairo is the current, and increasingly turbulent epicentre, but many [...]

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WikiLeaks, Diplomacy and the Public Interest

December 31, 2010

Looking back over the key developments affecting international relations during 2010, the continuing release of over 250,000 US-origin diplomatic communications stands out as especially significant.
The story broke just over a month a month ago, and has been with us every day since. This must already amount to something of an endurance record  given the relentless [...]

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