INNOVATIVE DIPLOMACY: NEW ERA, NEW APPROACHES
Enterprising and effective diplomacy is critical for addressing the myriad problems humanity faces in times of upheaval. The world is facing such a period and it has become undisputable that no nation has the resources and capability to go it alone.
Diplomacy as the systematized and institutionalized way of communication, negotiation, and representation allows states to work out cooperative solutions among parties that have as a matter of course differing vantage points. Diplomacy has never been static although at times it may have appeared as such. Diplomacy by the very nature of its subject matter and purpose has always been tested by political, economic, social and technological change. As dynamics, drivers, actors, and instruments change diplomacy must adapt to remain fit for purpose.
The response of diplomacy throughout modern history has been robust. It has stood the test of time through centuries of war and peace as well as fundamental changes. It has done so by adaptation and innovation. It has adjusted to communication revolutions from telegrams to contemporary social media. Countless instruments from bilateral treaties to global charters have institutionalized law and conduct among nations. Diplomacy has thus progressed for instance from ad hoc missions to permanent embassies, from ad hoc conferences to permanent multilateral fora. Humanity’s search for effective statecraft and diplomacy to resolve their differences, settle their conflicts, and provide a modicum of order to their affairs is eternal.
All nations adapt their diplomacy. They employ a variety of formats for consultation and negotiation; in crisis management and regional cooperation; in promoting institutional reforms, creating new fora and making the best of existing ones. They also come forward with new ideas to focus on specific regions, or specific problems and opportunities, or maximize the benefits of new technologies.
In our day and age the demand for diplomacy is again pressing as the perception of existing mechanisms proving ineffective is taking hold worldwide.
Against this background, the Antalya Diplomacy Forum will convene the faculties of political, diplomatic, scholarly, journalistic, civil society, business and other leaders to craft an appreciation of challenges, opportunities and innovative approaches for diplomatic engagements and solutions in the service of sustainable peace and development.
In other words, the Forum will explore the horizons of diplomacy across a range of key regional, global and thematic issues under the theme of “Innovative Diplomacy: New Era, New Approaches”.
The idyllic shores of Antalya on the Mediterranean, the historic incubator of ideas and the melting pot of cultures and civilizations throughout ages, will provide the appropriate setting to take stock and look ahead.