The encyclopedia Britannica says diplomacy is “the method of international discourse or the act of managing international relations chiefly by negotiation.” It has also been defined as the mitigation and minimization of those political conflicts that can evoke the spectre of cataclysmic warfare.
This method of establishing the pre-condition for permanent peace will be called peace through accommodation, its instrument is diplomacy.
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Sir Earnest Satow’s Definition
Sir Earnest Satow has aptly defined diplomacy as “the application of intelligence and tact to the conduct of official relations between the governments of independent states….or more briefly still, the conduct of business between states by peaceful peace.”
Zigler defines diplomacy as “the process of talking over differences, clarifying aims and exploring adjustments orts of fighting.”
In this wise, diplomacy should not be seen only as the method by which government pursues foreign policy or the “act of conducting relations with other states, so as to further the national interest.”
Rather, diplomacy should be a way by which the general peace is maintained by various political units, say Hamilton and Langhorne. Therefore, the act of wish should not be regarded as complementary to diplomacy; rather war is the consequence of the failure of diplomacy.
Promotion of National Interest by Peaceful Peace
That is why, Morgenthau argues that “the importance of diplomacy for the preservation of international peace, is but a particular aspect of the general functions, for diplomacy that ends war has failed on its primary objective, the promotion of national interest by peaceful peace.
Given the above definitions of diplomacy, we can summarise diplomacy as the willingness of states in the international system complements one another’s efforts to achieve objectives through form of peace methods, and restrain all issues that may jeopardize the accommodation of all interests concerned.
War and Diplomacy
Therefore, it is not correct to position that “war is in fact diplomacy by other means.” From our discussion so far, it’s obvious that there is a fundamental difference between war and diplomacy. Any objective obtained through warfare often requires war to sustain.
Read More
- Diplomacy: Meaning, Nature, Functions and Role in Crisis Link
- diplomacy | Definition, Meaning, Types, & Examples | Britannica
- Diplomacy – Wikipedia
