Necessary qualities for multilateral diplomacy

dip­lomats must possess several qualities; truthful­ness and honesty to be of prime importance in diplomacy. This does not mean that diplomats need be open and frank about their tactics or that their positions can never be adjusted. It does re­quire that references to historical, legal, and statistical data be correct and that agreements and pledges made earlier be hon­ored.

A feel for accuracy is therefore a second important quality every diplomat should have,.

dip­lomat needs to be adaptable as well. This means that one has to be able to work on several problems and in several locations' simultaneously.

calm, good temper, patience, modesty and zeal. Of course, being overly out­spoken will not be an asset to any negotiator, particularly in multilateral diplomacy, but the inability to show any emotion will likewise be a hindrance. Granted, attending meetings of seem­ingly trivial committees and plenary sessions filled with long, arduous monologues by jaded officials may not be the most ap­pealing activities on a rainy Friday afternoon, but,

Dip­lomats need to be able to exercise patience in order to know when to introduce a proposal and when to wait.

Brian Urquhart has put the matter as follows: ". Multilateral diplomacy is usually a laborious and nerve-racking process that requires great stamina as well as intuition, intellect, understanding and negotiating ability".

the diplomat must be both student — tutored by the appropriate national ministry on a particular issue — and researcher — able to delve into the subject independently.

to serve as political adviser to national authorities

Fluency in a second language, one of the six offi­cially used in the organization, is an important asset for the mul­tilateral diplomat. Even more important, perhaps, is an advanced education and a capacity for continued learning, for there is much to learn in such work. Today, some special knowledge of inter­national economics (including trade matters) can be a very use­ful asset, as can a background in international law, since there is so much technical content related to these fields in the issues that diplomats sometimes have to address.

a background in history can be useful.

The evolution of multilateral diplomacy

the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 is generally believed to be the origin of diplomacy as an institution, The Westphalian principles of sovereignty and the territorial state are the foundation of today's multilateral diplomatic sys­tem. they were established in the seventeenth century

The history of diplomacy is divided between the "old diplomacy" that reached its zenith in the nineteenth century and the "new diplomacy" of the twentieth. The "old diplomacy" or "bilateral diplomacy" was established and developed several key features of contemporary di­plomacy-resident ambassadors, secret negotiations, ceremonial duties and protocol, honesty, and professionalism. The "new diplomacy" that began in the nineteenth century and found its fullest ex­pression in the twentieth .

The vestiges of the "old diplomacy" rapidly faded into the background after World War II, when the international organization and multilateral diplomacy blossomed.

. Today, the tasks of a diplomat include: (1) formal and substantive representation (presentation of credentials, protocol and participation ,explanation and defiance of national policies and negotiations with other governments); (2) information gathering (acting as a "listening post"); (3) laying the groundwork or preparing the basis for a policy (4) reducing interstate friction or oiling the wheels of bilateral or multilateral relations; (5) managing order and change; and (6) creating, drafting and amending international normative and regulatory rules.

Multilateral diplomacy emphasizes diplomats' public speak­ing, debating and language skills since communications are con­ducted principally by means of verbal, face-to-face exchanges rather than in the predominantly written style of bilateral diplo­macy.