The World Today
March 1999

New Skills for Cyber Diplomats
By: Jeffrey Cooper

 

What are the essential qualifications for foreign service officers in the 21st century? What are the important differences in the expertise future diplomats must possess compared with that of their traditional predecessors? The answers to these questions indicate the very substantial changes in the nature of the diplomatic enterprise as we enter the information age.

 

The modern conduct of diplomacy must address the complete range of interests affecting national power and influence, as well as the social, economic and environmental well being of the state’s citizens. Effective diplomacy must utilise advanced information tools and techniques. Understanding the implications of all these factors is important; and being able to employ new information technologies as an integral element of modem diplomacy will be crucial to the success of the future foreign service officer.

The context of the diplomatic enterprise has changed substantially in the last century, as have the tasks to be carried out by diplomats in the next one. International relations and foreign affairs no longer have the same boundaries and diplomacy does not coincide with the traditional content of foreign affairs. Political and strategic matters have ceased to be the principal element of international relations.

Diplomacy in the 21st century must integrate a broad range of economic, socio-cultural, environmental, scientific, and legal considerations, as well as the traditional political and military factors. Importantly, formerly domestic issues cannot be segregated from foreign policy concerns.

It is essential to recognise that the conduct of diplomacy in the information age goes beyond démarches to and bilateral discussions between ministries of foreign affairs of sovereign nation-states. Public diplomacy and the media will be key elements of the new diplomacy that must address a wide range of other actors and constituencies.

Fluency in foreign languages, cultural sensitivity, keen political observational skills, and good manners no less than intelligence and clarity of writing — have been traditionally seen as hallmarks of the successful diplomat. In future, beyond these abilities, successful foreign service officers will also be expected to demonstrate a range of expertise and skills appropriate for the information age. Primary among these will be the ability to communicate the entire range of national interests and policies through a variety of media to a wide range of crucial audiences, both at home and abroad.

 

The Golden Age

It was accepted in pre-Westphalian times that an ambassador was the personal representative of the monarch and spoke for the whole range of monarchical interests, including brokering marriages and family alliances. Subsequent to the Peace of Westphalia, with the shift of power to nation-states, diplomacy became another tool of state power; but individual diplomats still represented their rulers to host governments as direct spokesmen. As Alexander Wotton would shortly thereafter say about them, “Ambassadors were honest men sent abroad to lie for their country”.

During the flowering of traditional European diplomacy in the 1 800s, the shortcomings of communications allowed ambassadors great leeway and discretion in representation and negotiation with the country to which they were accredited. At the same time, these very communications limitations also made it possible for a small cadre of foreign affairs officials to play a gatekeeper role on foreign contacts and foreign policy issues within their own governments and their nations.

Throughout the Golden Age of Diplomacy — the 150 years of grand diplomacy from the Concert of Europe through the founding of the League of Nations and the United Nations to the SALT/START negotiations and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) the stuff of diplomacy was focused on high politics. Foreign affairs, considered the core of diplomacy, was fundamentally concerned with war and peace — the employment of state power vis-à-vis other states — and these aspects traditionally dominated other dimensions of international affairs.

For much of the post-war period of competition between the two superpowers and their military alliances, political-military affairs and arms control issues especially took centre stage in diplomatic endeavour. Since that period, however, significant changes have taken place in the duties and responsibilities of diplomats as a result of two factors. bureaucratisation and improved communications.

Foreign ministries originally grew as separate organisations within governments. This inevitably bureaucratised diplomacy as the ministries also became the coordinating authority and the principal conduit for information about foreign developments. At the same time, information and communications technologies (ICTs), starting with telegraphy and transoceanic cables in the late 1800s — allowing near real-time communication of negotiating instructions and diplomatic reports — increasingly linked ambassadors to their home capitals and eroded the independence of diplomats abroad.

 

New Role

In this century, the widespread availability of convenient long-distance air travel, direct-dial intercontinental voice telephone circuits, world-wide real-time media, among a myriad of technological developments, have continued redefining the role and duties of the diplomat. They have enabled significant increases in personal meetings between heads of state, direct Ministry of Foreign Affairs-to-Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacts, and a profusion of international visits, meetings and conferences by a wide range of actors involved in foreign activities.

Now, ubiquitous computers, the Internet, and globally-available mobile communications are continuing to alter the diplomat’s traditional job as a result of proliferating high quality, real-time communications. These promote both a vast increase in access to information about foreign developments and an explosion in direct international contacts — not only between states, but among other government entities (both international and domestic) at all levels, a wide range of non-government and private voluntary organisations, businesses, academic institutions, and individuals.

In addition to their direct effects, advanced ICTs have also triggered far-ranging indirect changes in the character of relationships between and among states and international contacts in general. One important result has been a challenge to traditional hierarchies and control structures, heightening the importance to foreign affairs of actors other than central governments and their leaders.

New ICTs have also reshaped world-wide commerce and finance, entertainment, as well as news gathering and distribution; and these developments have helped to break down the borders between states and dissolve boundaries among cultures — thereby eroding the traditional distinctions between foreign and domestic affairs even as they dissolved many distinctions among nations and foreign cultures.

The combination of these effects has resulted in what is commonly called globalisation — having dramatic impacts on the content and conduct of modern diplomacy which, in turn, also affect all aspects of the diplomat’s traditional job. These trends have made it nearly impossible for foreign ministries to retain their previous control over the foreign relations of the state.

 

Domestication of Diplomacy

As a result of globalisation, economics, international trade, environmental problems, and negotiations over technical standards and protocols have increasingly become the central concerns of day-to-day diplomatic efforts. At the same time, these factors have contributed to making many domestic constituencies key players in the development of foreign policies — and therefore to the domestication of diplomacy. Domestic constituencies, both government and private, with strong interests in these areas now communicate and negotiate directly with their counterparts in other countries and international organisations, substantially complicating diplomatic relationships.

Additionally, world-wide news coverage, especially with direct satellite data and television uplinks, coupled with the near global availability of television reception, has outrun the ability of diplomatic and intelligence organisations to maintain an advantage in information about international affairs. Indeed, the very realist paradigm of international relations, based on the hard-shell billiard ball model of Newtonian physics with states pictured as unitary actors, has been overtaken by a neo-classical model grounded in quantum mechanics that recognises the internal activity in, and communications among, entities.

Given the significant changes to the nature of the traditional diplomatic enterprise, it is important that potential diplomats appreciate the character and tasks that will dominate the conduct of their work in the next century. While the classic functions of representation, reporting, and negotiation will continue, their form and substance will be significantly altered.

 

Representing Interests

The key function of diplomats will continue to be the representation of national interests not only to governments, but to a very broad range of foreign audiences. Over their careers, future diplomats will be expected to reflect these views to the wide variety of host countries to which they may be accredited; and within these countries, representation must reach well beyond the foreign ministry and head of state.

With the rapid growth of key international Organisations, the new diplomat can also expect at least one posting to an international governmental organisation; in these cases, representational duties will include not only the organisation itself, but other governments’ delegations, as well as non-governmental and private voluntary groups.

With the growing frequency of large multi-national negotiations covering many non-traditional topics, future diplomatic officers will increasingly participate in temporary overseas assignments as part of delegations during which they are likely to have to deal with a broad spectrum of non-government participants and interest groups.

Because of increasing direct capital-to-capital, Ministry of Foreign Affairs-to-Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacts, representation requires in depth understanding of the host country beyond government or elite opinion — across not only political, but also economic and socio-cultural areas. Not only will the diplomat deal with foreign ministers in host countries, but with a range of other government departments and agencies as well. And not all of these will be at federal or central government level. Increasingly local government groups may be important for representational efforts.

Moreover, regional organisations or their representatives located in the host country will also be an important focus. Many of these will be primarily concerned with trade and economic development, rather than political issues. In addition, there may also be supra-national organisation offices with which representation will have to be coordinated.

As well as formal government links, the diplomat will be expected to establish and maintain relationships with a broad spectrum of non-government organisations. These will include, in addition to interested political groups, business Organisations, private companies, trade unions, scientific and technical organisations among others. Non-governmental organisations, private voluntary organisations, and international governmental organisations in the host country are likely to be important contacts.

Explaining national interests demands that foreign service officers understand the entire range of domestic constituencies. These will increasingly include the positions of other government entities as well as those of interested private groups. In addition to foreign office representation, of which diplomats will be members, other government ministries and agencies will have their own coordinating representatives at embassies, on a permanent or visiting basis, to liaise with the host government. The diplomatic team has to ensure that these interests and positions are fully coordinated with those of the foreign ministry.

 

Providing a Picture

Reporting on foreign developments will remain an important element in the future diplomat’s job portfolio. Beyond the ability to report accurately on reactions and formal responses to démarches, this requires the recognition and understanding of more subtle indicators.

The rapid growth of world-wide news-gathering and real-time news dissemination — by both news and other private Organisations has, however, significantly altered the nature of diplomatic reporting. The Internet provides foreign ministries with direct real-time access to many foreign news sources such as newspapers and magazines that formerly had to be supplied by daily embassy reporting. Much traditional diplomatic reporting therefore has been displaced.

In addition to the concise and accurate reflection of reactions to positions and initiatives, the diplomat is responsible for assessing and reporting on key developments in the host country. These will include both matters that could affect bi-lateral and multi-lateral relations, as well as transnational issues such as environmental security and anti-terrorist activities.

Providing an integrated, synoptic picture accurately reflecting an overall appreciation beyond parochial departmental interests is essential to adding value to diplomatic reporting. The diplomat must be able to place the host country’s activities and thinking in a broad set of contexts — domestic as well as international — not just in terms of bilateral political impacts on relations with his or her country.

Negotiations will remain a significant element of the diplomat’s responsibilities. Future diplomats will continue to take an active part in international negotiations; but unlike their predecessors, they are likely to share negotiating responsibility with delegates from other government agencies, and, on occasion, with those from private organisations.

Bilateral talks about subjects covering the entire range of joint interests, however, are likely to take a smaller role than multilateral negotiations. Increasingly, negotiations go beyond traditional bilateral relations because solutions to complex problems demand the participation of a broad range of interested parties.

 

Demanding Attention

Beyond these traditional but still important job functions, other newer aspects of the diplomatic portfolio are likely to demand more attention. A significant element of diplomatic work during overseas postings in future will involve help for non-traditional national interests. These will include providing support to visiting government, parliamentary, and business delegations. In particular, assisting companies in developing contacts and reaching significant commercial arrangements, will be a high priority.

The diplomat will be expected to contribute to the development of sound foreign policy, and not only by providing expert analysis of international developments and producing credible options. With other government agencies — and other domestic constituencies showing substantial interest in foreign policy, a major element of policy-making and coordination will involve building support among interested domestic constituencies and developing consensus with other government agencies and parliamentary interests.

Finally, and unpleasantly, many foreign postings will involve providing relief and assistance to foreign governments and populations during natural disasters and complex humanitarian emergencies. Moreover, with the rise of transnational terrorism and the increase in criminal activities targeting foreign visitors, diplomats will play an important role in advising both businesses and tourists on security conditions and protective measures.

Traditionally, foreign service officers were expected to possess an honours degree in liberal arts from a first-rank university. A focus in political science, international relations, or history were preferred. Future candidates will be encouraged to hold degrees across a wider range of disciplines, especially in scientific and technical fields that are increasingly important to emerging international relations and foreign policy. In addition to direct recruitment from undergraduate or graduate study, mid-career entrants with relevant work experience in a wide range of specialist subjects are likely to be especially welcome.

 

Comfortable Communicating

Generalist talents, including excellent communications abilities especially strong writing skills — were always particularly valued in support of the critical job of reporting. Excellent linguistic skills, including the ability to learn new languages needed for foreign postings were also considered to be significant advantages. Cultural sensitivity and understanding, including in-depth knowledge of selected countries and regions were critical selection factors.

Diplomats for the information age must bring additional qualifications. They should possess exceptionally strong analytical skills, combining the capability to integrate and synthesise across domains and on a regional or global basis. Extra-political expertise, in economics and technical areas, are now considered particularly valuable; synoptic understanding of regional dynamics and integrating analytical abilities are especially sought after.

Mid-career entrants who bring deep expertise and areas of specialisation, along with real-world experience and familiarity with foreign cultures, will be highly valued. In addition, the information age diplomat should possess an in-depth understanding of new ICTs and be comfortable communicating to a wide range of audiences using the entire range of new media.