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DEVELOPMENTS
IN PROTOCOL - Erik Goldstein
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 THE DIPLOMATIC HANDSHAKE
The Diplomatic Handshake
One recent phenomenon is the increasing importance of handshakes as part of diplomatic
practice. The proffered hand is now taken as an signal of good faith and willingness to
cooperate, the refusal to do so is seen as the opposite, and ignoring a proffered hand a
significant diplomatic insult and a clear signal of disapproval. Prince Charles pointedly
ignored Idi Amin’s proffered hand at Jomo Kenyatta’s funeral (1978). The
question of whether or not Yitzak Rabin would shake Yasser Arafat’s hand was focused
on to such an extent that President Clinton virtually threw the two together on the lawn
of the White House. Symbolic as this was seen at the time, this tepid handshake was a far
cry from Begin and Sadat’s embrace when Sadat visited Jerusalem. Perhaps embraces
will be the next development. British Prime Minister Tony Blair in meeting Sinn Fein
leader Gerry Adams temporized, shaking hands with him, but out of public sight. There is,
of course, the issue of paranoia amongst leaders. Nicolae Ceacescu feared assassination
from poison made to be absorbed through the palm and so kept his hand to himself.(9) President de Gaulle was a master at ignoring proffered hands.
9.
Cal McCrystal, "What’s in a handshake," The Observer, 19 Oct. 1997.
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