Abstract
The study explored the changing nature of diplomacy in the 21st century. This exploration is due to numerous and important changes that have occurred in the international arena, ranging from globalisation to the decline of the US, the rise of China, the problems in the Middle East, nuclear disarmament, climate change, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the COVID-19 pandemic, diplomatic inflation; and the ever-expanding and increasing actors and agendas in diplomacy. The research endeavoured to demonstrate that modern diplomacy has become too challenging and fraught with problems for generalists to operate effectively. They cannot navigate the increased complexity of the interactions between states while also contending with the growing influence of non-governmental actors and civil society. The days when generalists or political appointees can resolve the multifaceted diplomatic issues we face today seem to be behind us. Thus, this study aimed to investigate diplomacy's modern challenges, using the four main problem areas identified, each with its case study or example and a foresight scenario. Thus, the thesis proposes a new diplomatic specialisation and training model that can be implemented universally within four specialisation streams (one for each major problem area). These specialist diplomats would then be headed by specialist leaders who are highly skilled and the best in their field.
The main findings were that the world has changed and become so complex, integrated, and fast-paced that we need specialist diplomats to overcome the modern challenges that accompany modernity. That is why the thesis recommended the implementation of a new hierarchy of not only selecting and training diplomats but also ranking and deploying them so that they can do specialised work. This new type of diplomatic practice will take place in four different streams of specialisation, namely, res publica – the political stream; frūgālĭtās – the economic stream; mīlĕs – the military stream and inspīrātĭo – the inspiration stream. These proposed specialists are called political diplomats, economic diplomats, warrior diplomats and muse diplomats correspondingly. However, the thesis argues that these specialists should not replace generalist diplomats but could rather build on how diplomats are currently chosen and equipped, keeping generalist diplomats as the solid base of operation but enhancing diplomacy through further selection, training and then specialisation. Realising the impact of all the significant global changes in the field, the research suggests the merits of training and deploying specialised diplomats in a growingly intricate and diverse world.
Key Words: Diplomacy, Modern Diplomacy, Political Diplomat, Warrior Diplomat, Economic Diplomat, Muse Diplomat.