What, in your opinion, is the most important aspect of the new diplomacy?

I would like to argue here that the most important and significantly ‘new’ aspect of the new diplomacy is that of the role of non-state actors. It can be said that although it depends on the specific issue at hand, the influence of institutions such as NGO’s or MNC’s can have on negotiations between states today is unprecedented. The increase in amount of these organisations is also an important point, for example, the total number of NGO’s has increased significantly since the beginning of the 20th century; In 1909, there was a total of 176 NGO’s in operation, compared with 21,026 in 2006 (Leguey-Feilleux, 2009, 105).

One could easily refute their importance by taking a more realist stance, and argue that it is the state which is the only real actor in diplomatic negotiations. However, Legeuy-Feilleux argues that representatives from MNC’s tend to be high level business executives, therefore wielding the influence of their firm’s resources; as a result they are taken very seriously by those in the public sector. He goes on to say that some state officials are even intimidated by their power (Legeuy-Feilleux, 2009, 144).

So why have these institutions become so important? One argument is that the types of issues that require negotiations between states are not limited by state boundaries. Environmental issues are a classic case in point. At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 for example, there were a significant number of NGO’s participating as members of government delegations, and actively participated in official decision making (Legeuy-Feilleux, 2009, 106-107).

Another example of NGO influence, and perhaps the most significant, was the formation of the landmine treaty, which even managed to go through despite the opposition from the United States.

Although it can be said that the majority of influence wielded by non-state actors (especially NGO’s) is most prevalent in multilateral diplomacy, in a world increasingly challenged by issues that are not exclusive to the single unit of the state, their role is more important than ever before.