What Makes Diplomacy Work?

Yuba Nath Lamsal:--- Leadership has two main dimensions. One is vision and the other one is execution. Vision seeks what to achieve and execution is to do with how to achieve the goal set in the vision. In politics, ideology is the vision or goal, while governance is the art of translating the vision into action producing the desired results. First part is to do with decision-making and the second aspect deals with management. This is applied in politics, foreign policy, diplomacy and other sectors as well. Politics is generally taken as a domestic vocation and politicians are required to focus more on internal matters. However, this is not always true. Politics is diplomacy at home as it is interaction among different domestic stakeholders within the country. Foreign policy and diplomacy deal with the international stakeholders and actors. Politics and diplomacy, therefore, are similar or in other words, two sides of a coin. The fundamental objective of politics is to defend sovereignty, territorial integrity, people’s rights, freedom and interests, while foreign policy goal of any country is to safeguard national interest in the international arena. Role of politicians: Politics and politicians have, therefore, important role in the conduct of international relations and foreign affairs. The executive chief is said to be the chief diplomat of the country and he/she is responsible for country’s diplomatic achievements or failure. Foreign minister, foreign ministry, diplomatic missions abroad, ambassadors and other diplomats are mere supportive instruments of the executive head in achieving the government’s goal in the international arena. This is the reason why foreign policy is often said to be the extension of domestic policy, which is largely true. However, in some cases, international developments impact domestic policy as well. This is more so for countries having complex geopolitical scenario like Nepal. Foreign policy is a vision and strategy while diplomacy is its execution and management. Foreign policy and diplomacy demand clarity in vision and high competence in its execution. The vision is foreign policy which includes clear objective to be achieved in nation’s best interest, while diplomacy is the approach, tactics and tool to achieve the goal set by foreign policy. Thus, the quality of politics, calibre of politicians and national strength influence foreign policy and diplomatic success. In Nepal’s case, foreign policy goals are clearly outlined in the constitution. The Constitution of Nepal in its Article 51 (M) has stated the basis of conducting international relations which says “to conduct an independent foreign policy based on UN Charter, non-alignment, principles of Panchsheel, international laws and the norms of world peace, taking into consideration of overall interest of the nation, while remaining active in safeguarding sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and national interest of Nepal”. The foreign policy and diplomacy too demand a leaders with vision and clarity in action and priorities. A visionary leader dreams more than others, sees more than others, thinks more than others and acts more than others. Leadership is tested every day but more in the time of crisis. It is the quality of leadership that steers the nation out of crisis. If the leadership is honest, committed and capable, it can transform the country within a short span of time. Lee Kuan Yew transformed poverty-ridden Singapore into world’s one of the prosperous countries within a short span of time. Deng Xiaoping of China and Park Chung-hee of South Korea are other leaders with vision and determination who could transform their countries into greater prosperity. The quality of leadership plays a crucial role in the foreign policy and diplomacy as well. The fate and future of the country and its people rest primarily on the ability, intention and vision of the leadership. However, it is said that people get the leaders they deserve. Leaders emerge from among the people and people are also responsible for having the type of leaders the country gets. The first and foremost objective of any country is to build national capacity and reputation to enhance diplomatic image and performance of the country abroad. Leaders and politicians have to be extra-cautious in making remarks on issues pertaining to foreign policy and diplomacy. Former president of United States John F Kennedy once said “domestic policy can only defeat us but foreign policy can kill us’. Similarly, according to ancient Chinese strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu, diplomacy is ‘a supreme art of war to subdue the enemy without fighting’. Geopolitical scenario:--- The international geopolitical scenario has changed. The world order appears to be on the cusp of change. Newer players have emerged in the global politics. The old Cold War was over in 1990s while new Cold War is in the offing. In the new Cold War and new power rivalry, new players have emerged. During the old Cold War, the main players were far from Nepal. But now our two immediate neighbours have risen as key players in the new world power game. In other words, epicentre of world power politics was far from Nepal but our neighbourhood has now been the new pivot of global geopolitical rivalry. This has posed challenge for us to navigate our foreign policy and diplomacy ensuring our interest. However, it can, at the same time, be an opportunity for us to extract benefits out of this situation as it has enhanced Nepal’s geopolitical significance. This situation demands tactful, astute and erudite diplomacy. In politics, parties may have different position on different issues but foreign policy demands collective and common stance as all political parties have common perspective on foreign policy. The government and ruling parties are definitely more responsible but other opposition parties also need to be responsible on foreign policy issues and accordingly extend support to the government. This strengthens government’s position in dealing with other countries on various issues. (The author is a former chief editor of this daily and a former ambassador. lamsalyubanath@gmail.com)