the new diplomacy

In my opinion, public opinion is the most important aspect of the new diplomacy for the reason that it is definitely a source of power. While classical diplomacy only involved governments’ representatives and leaves a passive public to rely on their bilateral decisions, new diplomacy opens its door to a large informal diplomats and gives a voice to various extremely active actors including non -governmental organizations and particular individuals. In my view, it is the power accorded to public in the political arena that creates opportunities for non-governmental actors to expand their influence in diplomatic processes, as public diplomacy requires transparency and cooperation when it encourages debate. To me even multilateral diplomacy would be irrelevant without the public’s pressure since NGOs play in important part in multilateral processes. Of course, living in an era where interconnection and fast communication dominate as noted by Snow it is “the rise in user-friendly communication technologies that have increased public participation in talking about foreign affairs” (Snow 2009: 6), indeed, globalization is causing the centre of diplomatic gravity to move “(Copeland 2009:166) from isolation and secrecy of governments to the public's sphere of influence.