Who Needs Diplomats?

Career professionals, students brought together at conference

By Alec Solomita

Special to the Gazette

The tearing down of the Berlin Wall, and the dissolution of the totalitarian system it symbolized, signaled massive changes in virtually every aspect of relations between states in the international community. Diplomacy, the formal art of managing negotiations among countries, is among the practices most drastically affected by the fall of the Soviet Union.

The role of the diplomat in this new world order -- or disorder -- was the provocative topic at a recent conference sponsored by the Center for International Affairs Fellows Program and the CFIA Student Council with active participation from the Nieman Foundation.

The one-day conference, aptly titled "Who Needs Diplomats? The Changing Nature of Diplomacy in Today's World," offered a secure and comfortable setting for some of the movers and shakers on the world scene to reflect on how that scene has changed.

What seems to some observers to be the hush-hush, cloak-and-dagger world of diplomacy became, behind ivy-covered walls, illuminated by free discussion. "I invite all participants to feel free to debate openly and wonder critically," said CFIA Fellows Program Director Steven Bloomfield in his opening remarks.

Speakers included former congressman and chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee Mickey Edwards, who is currently a lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government; John Sawers, current CFIA fellow and former private secretary to the British foreign secretary; Hannu Himanen, current CFIA fellow and a Finnish diplomat; and Monteagle Stearns, CFIA fellow '72-73 and former U.S. ambassador to both Greece and the Ivory Coast.

Most of the speakers are currently fellows in the CFIA Fellows Program, one of Harvard's vital connections to the international community and the major locus for the earnest, lively interactions that the Center -- through workshops, conferences, and symposia -- fosters among scholars, government officials, and leaders in the private sector.

The group wrestled with topics such as the relevance of diplomats in today's world, diplomats and the private sector, and the media and diplomats. The urgency of these issues was reflected in the title of the keynote address by Gordon S. Smith, deputy minister of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade: "Must Diplomacy Always Be on the Endangered Species List?"

Undergraduate Clout

One of the more unusual -- and exciting -- aspects of the conference was the student contribution to its success. Undergraduates played a decisive role, not only as participants in the event, but as organizers and planners as well. The CFIA Student Council, a small group of students intensely interested in foreign affairs, acts as a liaison between the CFIA community and the undergraduate community.

Student council co-president Daniel Silverberg '96 described the genesis of the conference: "Some of the fellows came to us with the idea of doing a symposium on the changing nature of diplomacy, and by coincidence, we had come up with a similar conference topic -- diplomacy and the media. We all worked together in a bunch of early-morning meetings to put together the sections, decide on speakers, and so on."

"For students, this is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to be exposed to illustrious individuals from a variety of sectors related to international affairs and diplomacy," enthused co-president of the Student Council Carmen O'Shea.

As Bloomfield commented on this rare opportunity for students and diplomatic professionals to develop mentoring relationships, "There are first-rate opportunities to receive counseling at this conference. Use them."

What Does a Diplomat Do?

Diplomacy is the network that, in effect, connects the dots in the complex political map of the world. Yet, precisely how its practitioners go about doing this has always been shrouded in mystery.

"We sometimes have trouble explaining to our own families what we do," said CFIA fellow Gary J. Smith, a senior member of the Canadian diplomatic corps and the person who first conceived of the conference.

Although there seemed to be a consensus that diplomats are, as Washington Post editor Michael Getler put it, "hardworking public servants who earn the taxpayers' money," and that they continue to play vital roles in the conducting of international relations, the question of exactly what those roles should be generated lively discussion. In the post-Cold War era, the fairly clear function of diplomats as advocates for one side or the other no longer exists. So what should diplomats be doing?

Stearns emphasized that flexibility and sensitivity -- always the hallmarks of a top diplomat -- are needed now more than ever. In essence, he said, the diplomat's touchy task is that of risk assessment in often-murky situations.

The Problems History Brings Back to Us

"As the Cold War melts," Stearns said, "history revives." Millennia-old ethnic and regional tensions, slumbering for a century, have quickly stirred back to life in the power vacuum created by the Soviet Union's fall.

Because political leaders and journalists, concerned as they must be with events of the moment, often lack a historical perspective, it is the job of diplomats to "supply the essential sense of history that enables governments to meet the problems history is bringing back to us," said Stearns. While the many local conflicts sparking around the globe don't necessarily "threaten world peace, they do threaten the world's peace of mind."

Mickey Edwards added that the "[American] diplomat's first job is to answer the question, 'What's our interest there? What's our stake in it?' " and then to persuade both the people and the branches of government that U.S. presence or assistance in Somalia or Ethiopia or Bosnia is, in fact, in the country's own best interest.

Many of the tasks facing diplomats today, though they may sound mundane, are crucial, said Michael Getler, recently named editor of the International Herald Tribune -- "things like getting the gas turned on in Sarajevo or convincing ancient enemies to agree on building a pipeline together under the Caspian Sea."

"Human Security" Issues

Other factors presently altering notions about the diplomat's function include the huge changes in communications wrought by recent technological advances and a general recognition that a whole new set of problems are arising, problems that concern all nations -- such as human rights abuses and environmental issues.

CNN and other outlets beam events around the world as they occur, undeniably affecting the way relations between nations are conducted, Getler acknowledged.

But he stressed that, while technological developments have been sensational, the resulting changes "are superficial and have not touched the essence of diplomacy." Stearns agreed, recalling an old diplomatic axiom -- "If you want a 'no' answer, you telephone, if you want a 'yes' answer, you meet face-to-face."

Many speakers talked about the growing awareness and sense of urgency around a series of issues that know no national boundaries -- environmental problems like depletion of the ozone, acid rain, and overpopulation, as well as human rights issues.

These "human security" issues, as Gordon Smith called them, "have moved up the international agenda, not only because of the havoc they create in foreign, often remote, countries, but also because they can ultimately connect with more immediate concerns about our own neighborhood."

The frankness with which seasoned diplomats addressed these tough problems made no small impression on a group who may themselves become diplomats in the not-too-distant future -- Harvard students.

"It's really great that undergrads got to listen to, and talk to, these high-powered professionals," said Student Council member Aarti Shah '98.

"The unusual and exciting thing was getting to see practitioners and academics together," said co-council member Luba Kobrinsky '98. "We students get to see the ways the theory we are studying is applied in the world."