General Diplomatic Studies and Practice

This course examines the evolution of diplomacy since the end of the Cold War and provides skills training for pursuing careers in international affairs. As such, the course has an academic part and a practical part.

The academic part has two overall objectives:

First, the course expands traditional conceptions of diplomacy by investigating the emergence and activities of new actors, such as Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and civil society.

Second, the course explores the evolution of different types of diplomacy, beginning with bilateral diplomacy and moving to the increasingly prevalent conference and multilateral diplomacy. It further examines international negotiations, the re-emergence of coercive diplomacy, the potential of preventive diplomacy and also explores the informal diplomatic practices of citizens and conflict resolution groups known as Track II Diplomacy.

The Practical part of the course entails two kinds of activities:

Skills Training offered by current and ex-diplomats and NGO activists in the following areas:

• Media presentation and interviewing skills, including the filming and analysis of students' performance in television studios
• Speech writing and speech making skills
• Negotiating skills

• Policy analysis skills for international affairs

• Political advocacy skills for the non-governmental sector

• Writing/drafting skills for professional activities

Participation in a variety of practical exercises and simulations, which help to put above skills into practice and also to engage with the academic content of the course.

Introductory Reading

Berridge, G.R., Diplomacy: Theory and Practice (2nd ed. Palgrave 2002)

Hamilton, K. & Langhorne, R. Practice of Diplomacy: its Evolution, Theory and Administration (Routledge 1995)

Held, D. (et al). Global Transformations (Polity Press 1999)