DIPLO | Online Courses in Diplomacy | Research on Contemporary Diplomacy

Bilateral Diplomacy

Bilateral diplomacy is one of the building blocks of international relations. This course offers a practitioner’s perspective, looking at concepts, and how these operate in real life as countries work to promote their interests in the contemporary global environment. The course provides participants with the tools to analyze world affairs, and attempts to impart to them the craft skills of diplomacy. Participants will sharpen their analytical skills, and become aware of the complex and concurrent objectives that countries pursue in their external relationships, and how this makes the foreign ministry the hub of a dynamic network that has many actors, state and non-state, each with a legitimate role in foreign affairs.

Adapted versions of this course, in a self-learning format, are currently being used by the Canadian Foreign Service Institute and the British Foreign Office.

Excerpt from Course Materials

Bilateral diplomacy (BD) covers relations between a pair of countries. The other great genre is multilateral diplomacy, including conference diplomacy. Some, especially small states, conduct much of their diplomacy at New York, Geneva and Brussels, great centers of UN and EU multilateral diplomacy; they may use New York for both UN-related work as well as for bilateral contacts with countries where they do not maintain resident embassies. Thus, the choice is not between either multilateral or bilateral diplomacy. Both are vital in advancing external interests. Bilateral diplomacy is the basic building block, creating a network of external ties. I believe that BD is sometimes under-valued, or taken for granted. This course covers the BD technique and craftsmanship.

The diplomatic process, as a sub-discipline of international relations, also merits wider study than it currently receives in academia. One reason is a persisting gulf between theorists and scholars on the one hand, and the practitioners on the other…Diplomatic studies have a role, through practice-oriented research and training, to bring practitioners and scholars closer together.

Course Outline

Bilateral Diplomacy Today: an overview of current trends in world affairs, including the key tasks of diplomacy as pursued by foreign ministries in our times, their prioritisation, and the methods used in relationship building.
The Political and Security Dimension: prioritisation in diplomacy; the targets and methods of relationship-building; and the challenges of problem solving; the different dimensions of security; and the interplay between diplomacy and security.
Economic Diplomacy: how it has become a leading priority in current times; the techniques of trade and investment promotion and other economic activities; the country image and ways to build the national brand.
Culture, Media, Education and Public Diplomacy: techniques applied in these sectors, inter-linkages between them; and the emergence of public diplomacy as a major concentration area, as well as ethnic diplomacy and the other instruments of soft power.
Foreign Ministries, Embassies and Consulates: the organisation and the key tasks; qualities of a diplomat; the reforms undertaken by foreign ministries and their domestic tasks of coordination and networking.
Bilateral Negotiation: theory and practice; the stages of negotiation; the styles of negotiation; the role of mediation.
Inter-Cultural Management and Diplomatic Signals: by its nature, diplomacy works across cultures; the basics of culture analysis and the practical conclusions this offers; direct and non-verbal signals, and the role played by signals in diplomatic communication.
Bilateral Summit Diplomacy: direct diplomacy between heads of state and governments has been a growth area in our times; its value and importance as well as its limitations. Summing up: the second part of this lecture summarises likely future developments in diplomacy.

Who Should Apply

This course will be of interest to:

practising diplomats, civil servants, and others working in international relations who want to refresh or expand their knowledge under the guidance of experienced practitioners and academics;
post-graduate students of diplomacy or international relations wishing to study topics not offered through their university programmes or diplomatic academies and to gain deeper insight through interaction with practising diplomats;
post-graduate students or practitioners in other fields seeking an entry point into the world of diplomacy;
journalists, staff of international and non-governmental organisations, translators, business people and others who interact with diplomats and wish to improve their understanding of diplomacy-related topics.

Words from Former Participants

I found the Bilateral Diplomacy course an excellent tool in broadening my knowledge and understanding of diplomatic practices around the world. With participants from a variety of countries and backgrounds, I found the sharing of experiences and best practice invaluable. Ambassador Rana provided an enriching mix of academic rigour and experience from an illustrious diplomatic career.

Peter Boxer - Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy, Rabat, Morocco

E-learning with DiploFoundation was a great experience. The innovative online sessions and contact with other students really helped to gain a wide view on the topics discussed. Despite having practised bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, I found the course informative and focussed, such as the benefits and drawbacks of both soft and hard power. This in particular proved useful in completing my understanding of how diplomacy can work at different levels.

Guy Pollard - Second Secretary, Conventional Weapons,
UK Disarmament Delegation, Geneva

Structure and Methodology

This course is conducted entirely online over a period of ten weeks. Reading materials and tools for online interaction are provided through an online classroom. Each week, participants read the provided lecture text, adding questions, comments and references in the form of hypertext entries. Lecturers and other participants read and respond to these entries, creating interaction based on the lecture text. During the week, participants complete additional online activities (for example, further discussion via blogs or forums, quizzes, group tasks, simulations or short assignments). At the end of the week, participants and lecturers meet online in a chat room to discuss the week’s topic. To complete the course successfully, participants must write several essay assignments. Courses are based on a collaborative approach to learning, involving a high level of interaction.

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Lecturer(s)

Ambassador Kishan S Rana, Professor Emeritus
Bilateral Diplomacy, 21st Century Diplomacy, Public Diplomacy, Consular Diplomacy

Ambassador Kishan S Rana: BA (Hon) and MA in economics, St Stephens College Delhi. Indian Foreign Service (1960-95); Ambassador/High Commissioner: Algeria, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, Mauritius, and Germany. Professor Emeritus, DiploFoundation, Malta and Geneva; Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi; Archives By-Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge; Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Centre, Washington DC; Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, Kuala Lumpur; Commonwealth Adviser, Namibia Foreign Ministry, 2000-01. Author: Inside Diplomacy (2000); Managing Corporate Culture (co-author, 2000); Bilateral Diplomacy (2002); The 21st Century Ambassador (2004); Asian Diplomacy (2007). Foreign languages: Chinese, French.

Prerequisites

Applicants must have:

an undergraduate university degree; OR three years work experience and appropriate professional qualifications in diplomacy or international relations;
sufficient ability in English language to undertake postgraduate level studies (including reading academic texts, discussing complex concepts with other course participants, and submitting written essay assignments of up to 2500 words in length);
unrestricted access to the Internet using Firefox or Internet Explorer web browsers (please contact us for more details if you are in doubt about your level of access).

Fees

Course fees depend on whether you wish to obtain university credit for the course:

755 euros (University of Malta Accredited Course)
575 euros (Diplo Certificate Course)

Applicants must pay full fees upon official acceptance into the course. The fee includes:

University of Malta application fee (for University of Malta Accredited Courses only);
full tuition;
course orientation pack where applicable (optional readings);
access to all course materials online, via Diplo’s online classroom;
access, via the Internet, to the University of Malta e-journal collection (University of Malta Accredited Courses only);
personal interaction via the online classroom with course lecturers, staff and other participants;
online technical support;
for Diplo Certificate Courses, postgraduate level certificate issued by DiploFoundation on successful completion of course requirements (interaction and participation, all assignments).

Financial Assistance

Discounts are available for more than one participant from the same institution. A limited number of partial scholarships are available for diplomats from developing countries. To apply for a scholarship please include your CV or resume, and a letter outlining your interest in the course and financial need, with your application package.

How to Apply

A number of routes for application are available, depending on the needs of the applicant: