Explaining Diplomatic Impact: A Theoretical Framework

• In Event: New Research on International Diplomacy

Abstract

There exists a deep divide within the literature concerning the impact of diplomats in global affairs. The dedicated scholarship on diplomacy and the first-hand accounts of former practitioners suggest that diplomats and the tactics they employ regularly change the course of global history. The International Relations (IR) field, in contrast, takes little interest in diplomats, largely treating them as mere conduits for state capabilities. This divide has consequences for IR theory and practice. How, then, do we explain the impact of diplomats in world affairs? To answer this question, it is necessary to conceptualize the social, relational influence of diplomats. Using insights from Social Network Analysis, this paper develops a Diplomatic Impact Framework (DIF) to explain the impact of diplomats within intergovernmental networks. By demonstrating how the distinct patterns of relations diplomats cultivate enable impact, the DIF conceptualizes diplomacy in a manner that it both consistent with its treatment within the diplomatic literature and is fully conversant with the theoretical and methodological debates within the wider IR field. I test the framework against the record of Canadian diplomacy during the 1950 Korean War and the 1956 Suez Crisis. By selecting two carefully paired historical cases in which the full archival document record is available, it is possible to assess comprehensively how variation in diplomatic networks enabled (or limited) diplomatic impact.

Author

• Michael W. Manulak, Carleton University