Diplomacy in the Modern World ©

Post world war 2 we as a world on the whole saw that there needed to be a greater form of global diplomacy so as to prevent future crises and wars from happening again. We now use institutions such as the United Nations, European Union, African Union, Organization of American States and CARICOM in the Caribbean to name a few. These institutions act as mediators during conflict or disagreement between nations in order to avoid conflict and to help come up with a resolution which is mutually beneficial to all parties. They also allow for sharing of information, intelligence gathering, settling of trade disputes an assisting in keeping peace and economic stability for all parties.

Thanks to modern day advancements in technology it is now also easier for countries to maintain dialogue with one another through the use of the telephone, video conferencing and if necessary, state visits. Not forgetting that if countries want to meet at a neutral ground, they can meet at the United Nations Headquarters or in Geneva, Switzerland. Our world today has advanced so much that now more than ever there is a greater need for diplomacy. With many nations stretching their military might, we must always place the emphasis of military action as a last resort and only when all efforts of diplomacy have failed.

Diplomacy today also plays a critical role in our global fight against terrorism, civil wars, climate change and health pandemics. Keeping these in mind diplomacy is most certainly needed to ensure the well-being, security, safety and health of all citizens of every nation. With the rise of globalization in the modern world diplomacy plays an important role in ensuring global trade is done effectively and efficiently. Most nations depend on trade to obtain and provide services and goods such as oil and gas, food, vehicles, raw materials etc. 

As within the modern era many countries possess powerful militaries and weapons of mass destruction, as such diplomacy is the key to ensuring the need for the use of such weapons or military force never needs to be deployed or used. Through diplomacy we can avoid and postpone the possibility of armed conflict between nations such as war. As we have seen in recent times through dialogue and diplomacy nations have come together to ensure peace. Through diplomacy Columbia signed a peace treaty with FARC rebels, North Korea and South Korea ended years of escalating tensions through dialogue and historical face to face meetings and there was also the successful signing of the Iran Nuclear Deal within the President Obama administration. Through the use of diplomacy tools the world can achieve peace keeping efforts, global anti-piracy operations, war of terror, disaster assistance, economic relief immigration, trade, intelligence sharing, education and access to global financial markets. 

Also looking at diplomacy today, many nations enjoy free trade agreements with other nations whereby there are exemptions from certain tariffs and easier access to goods and services. There is also the sharing of education, culture while also not forgetting it has plays a pivotal role in avoiding armed modern day conflict between nations with disastrous consequences. Let us also remember given this current period of time where the world is at war with an invisible enemy which is the Corona-virus, through diplomacy the entire world is working together with the use of economic assistance, sharing of medical accessories and medical knowledge to help combat the spread of the virus. We also have scientist and medical staff all over the world working together for the common good in finding a vaccine for said virus. 

As I now close, I would just like to say diplomacy is the bedrock to achieving continued global peace, stability and fighting for a collective human good. 

 

Daniel Bertie

Trinidad and Tobago