It can be suggested
that diplomacy plays a crucial role in mediating universalism and particularism,
and that diplomacy thereby in a sense constitutes and produces international
society. Each combination of universalism and particularism – whether settled
in a treaty or, more commonly, continuously negotiated – represents a
differentiation of political space. Each resolution specifies, often
implicitly, who “we” are and which competence we have (universalism), and who
“I” am and which competence I have (particularism).
Let us briefly illustrate the intermingling and messiness of material with
the
example of the so-called
Westphalian system emerging as a result of the peace agreement after the Thirty
Years War. The Peace of Westphalia organized Europe
on the basis of particularism. It represented a new diplomatic arrangement – an
order created by states, for states – and replaced most of the legal vestiges
of hierarchy, at the pinnacle of which were the Pope and the Holy Roman
Emperor. In the words of scholars, a new
international society “evolved out of the struggle between the forces tending
towards a hegemonial order and those which succeeded in pushing the new Europe towards the independent end of our spectrum.” The
seventeenth century resolution was a compromise between several material and ideational
propensities, none of which had prevailed as a result of the war. In our terms,
it is noteworthy that the Westphalian system was a compromise between the
universalistic idea of Christian unity, reformulated as a natural law derived
from God, and the particularistic notion of sovereignty. Whereas the Westphalian
settlement is traditionally viewed as the death knell for a Christian society
of polities, strong vestiges of universalism remained. First, sovereignty did
not imply equality. The notion that all kings were directly ordained by God
rather than by the pope, did not at all mean that all kings were equal. And
while the Peace of Westphalia “was largely successful in containing the
hegemonic aspirations of the Habsburgs, … it did not anticipate the ambitions
of the Bourbon Louis XIV to dominate Europe.”
In Westphalian
example above the treaties of Osnabrück and Münster specified, both implicitly
and explicitly, that “we” were Christiansand that “I” was a King ordained by
God. Diplomacy contributes to, as well as reflects, this differentiation of
international society. Let us turn, next, to three essential dimensions of
diplomacy that capture the mechanisms involved in mediating universalism and
particularism.
Scholars distinguish three essential or constitutive
dimensions of diplomacy: communication, representation and reproduction
of international society. Diplomacy is often characterized as communication
between polities. Without communication there can be no diplomacy. Negotiation
is generally regarded as the core of, and sometimes equated with, diplomacy.
Representation is
another core dimension of diplomacy, insofar as diplomats are representatives
of principals, acting on their behalf and standing as symbols of them and their
polities. Reproduction, finally, refers to the ways in which diplomacy contributes
to the creation and continuation of a particular international society. By
“reproduction” scholars mean the processes by which polities, or groups of
polities, maintain themselves as such. As partisans of flux, scholars
favor a concept that emphasizes the need to explain permanence. Reproduction
implies that continuity cannot be taken for granted. Diplomatic recognition and
socialization are the core mechanisms through which diplomacy helps
constituting – and is, in turn, constituted by – any given differentiation of
international space.
?After-reading activities
1 Comprehension questions
1 What
is the role of diplomacy in international society?
2
What is the difference between universalism and particularism?
3
Where do universalism and particularism manifest themselves in international
relations?
4
How many dimensions of diplomacy can scholars single out?
5
What are these dimensions? Define each of them.
6
What is the essence of representation?
7
What is the function of reproduction in international relations?
8 What
is scholarly definition of reproduction?
9 What
does the concept of reproduction imply?
10
What does diplomacy help constitute?
Work with the
dictionary and consult the text to do tasks 2 and 3
2 Translate
words and word combinations from
English into Ukrainian and use them in
your own sentences
Crucial role; universalism; particularism; implicitly; constitutive; reproduction; to equate with; principal;
on behalf; flux; socialization
3 Translate from Ukrainian
into English
Бути сполучною ланкою; партикуляризм; становити; договір, угода; резолюція;
аспект, вимір; зв’язок, комунікація; прирівнювати; сталість,
незмінність
4 Complete
the sentences with words or phrases from the list
Treaty; reproduction; mediating; equate; constitute;
dimension; contribute; communication; produce; resolutions
1.
It may be safe to say, however, that if
Fulbright students were made more aware of the ______ function in exchange then
more students would undertake this role as part of their sojourn.
2.
It is, however, realistic to aspire to influencing the
milieu factors that _______ the psychological and political environment in
which attitudes and policies towards other countries are debated.
3.
Taken together, these pieces in the public diplomacy
jigsaw ________ a more intricate picture than is apparent at first sight – and
certainly one more complex than the assumptions on which some governments’
official public diplomacy efforts appear to rest.
4.
The Ottawa
Convention – the ‘most rapidly ratified’ such international _____ ever – came
into force on 1 March 1999.
5.
In their local committees, people were invited to
discuss foreign policy issues and submit ______ on them to higher bodies.
6.
The relative absence of these countries from the
internet reminds us both of the great imbalance of power that exists in this ______
of public diplomacy and the low tolerance of the strong for feelings of
insecurity.
7.
Along with the ______ of the command center for
constant monitoring of international media, the Rapid Response Unit issues
daily guidance complete with talking points for American embassies and
consulates to respond to emergent matters in the media.
8.
Despite this, the concept of public diplomacy is not
employed, not even recognized, among the majority of officials who were
interviewed for this research, nor is it found in any of the Commission’s or
Council Secretariat’s policy papers or other types of ________.
9.
The impression, however, is that like many governments
and diplomatic missions elsewhere, the Taliban diplomats felt under pressure to
respond to something, the demands of the mass media as articulated by the
Islamabad press corps, which they did not particularly _____ with the world of
publics and their opinions.
10. Used well, it can ___________
to the EU’s ‘meta-narrative’ by providing a sense of belonging to the same
community of values.
5 Say if the following statements are true according to the text.
1 Diplomacy helps
to mediate universalism and particularism.
2 In each resolution traces of universalism and particularism
can be found.
3 Diplomacy establishes the
differentiation of international society.
4 There are four essential
dimensions of diplomacy.
5 Negotiation is the
basis of diplomacy.
6 Negotiation is as
synonym of diplomacy.
7 Representation is
not a core dimension of diplomacy.
8 Reproduction is
the synonym of representation.
9 Representation
helps polities, or groups of polities maintain themselves as such.
10 Reproduction means
that continuity should be taken for granted.
Write
an essay on Treaty of
Westphalia and its role
in international relations.
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