Diplomacy is a vital part of our global world. It is a method of negotiating peace and international relations among nations, even in the absence of a global government. It bridges the seemingly contradictory polarities of politics and anarchy. Politics is the structured exercise of power, and anarchy is a state of disorder that challenges traditional political structures.
People use the word “diplomatic” in their everyday lives to describe someone who is polite, easy to get along with, and able to deliver bad news in a kind way. But in a professional sense, diplomats are members of the State Department who specialize in making peaceful resolutions to conflicts between countries and organizations around the world.
In the modern era, diplomacy has evolved from a system of resident embassies and formal exchanges of ambassadors to include a multitude of other methods for communicating with foreign governments and organizations. Diplomacy today includes communication, negotiation, intelligence gathering, image management, and policy implementation. It is both multilateral and bilateral (conventional and unconventional), and is conducted both by official diplomatic missions and by non-diplomatic means such as private channels.
Diplomacy is also closely linked to espionage. Embassies are bases for both diplomats and spies, and some diplomats are openly acknowledged spies—for example, military attaches who learn as much as they can about the militaries of their host countries. For this reason, the sanctity of diplomatic immunity is so important. Throughout history, killing a diplomat has been considered a breach of honor, and the perpetrators of such attacks have typically been punished with extreme vengeance.
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