Benedict Winter

Is There a Crisis In/of Diplomacy?: Putting Things into Perspective Benedict Winter

Buzzword like Globalisation, Network or Information Society and Information Age seem to be indispensable in current contribution concerning foreign affairs. Indeed, the world has never been more interdependent and connected. In this context, governments and think tanks around the world recently re-evaluate the functions and purpose of diplomatic services by identifying the constituting factors of change and formulate according recommendations and policies with the aim to cope with an accelerated ever-changing environment. In this context, this paper aims to identify the impact of Information and Communication Technology and the Information Revolution upon diplomacy. Recent studies indicate that institutions concerned with diplomacy are not equipped to fulfil their responsibilities within the new environment. After elaborating on the major changes in the environment of diplomacy, an (idealistic but constructive) attempt is made to qualify some of the assumptions and conclusions of the primary literature by putting them into a wider perspective. Finally addressing the question if, and in which concern, there is a Crisis in/of Diplomacy.