Citizen diplomacy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Citizen diplomacy is the political concept of average citizens engaging as representatives of a country or cause either inadvertently or by design. Citizen diplomacy may take place when official channels are not reliable or desirable; for instance if two countries do not formally recognize each others governments— citizen diplomacy may be an ideal tool of statecraft. Citizen diplomacy does not have to be direct negotiations between two parties, but can take the form of: scientific exchanges, cultural exchanges, and international athletic events.
Citizen diplomacy can complement official diplomacy or subvert it. Some nations ban track two efforts like this when they run counter to official foreign policy.
Citizen Diplomacy is the concept that the individual has the right, even the responsibility, to help shape U.S. foreign relations, “one handshake at a time.” Citizen diplomats can be students, teachers, athletes, artists, business people, humanitarians, adventurers or tourists. They are motivated by a responsibility to engage with the rest of the world in a meaningful, mutually beneficial dialogue.[1]
Anti-nuclear groups like Clamshell Alliance and ECOLOGIA have sought to thwart US policy through "grassroots" initiatives with Soviet and (later) former Soviet groups.
Contents |
[edit] Further reading
- Gelder, Melinda. Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend. Bauu Institute: Dec 2006.
- Mattern, Douglass. Looking for Square Two: Moving from War and Organized Violence to Global Community. Millennial Mind Pub: Jun 2006.
- Patterson, David S. The Search for Negotiated Peace: Women's Activism and Citizen Diplomacy in World War I. Routledge: Dec 2007.
- Phillips, David L. Unsilencing the Past: Track two Diplomacy And Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation. Berghahn Books: Feb 2005.
[edit] In Media
- The independent feature documentary Iran: Hot Tea, Cool Conversations champions the ideals of citizen diplomacy throughout the film. The filmmaker traveled to Iran as an American college student in hopes of uncovering the real, modern-day Iranian culture and people. His hope is to promote citizen diplomacy and the ideas of a global community.[2]
