How To Be A Diplomat – Nicholas Westcott

The one person who can never afford to lie is the mediator or chair of the talks. That is because they have to be trusted by all sides, so honesty is their main weapon. A mediator has to maintain neutrality and trust while trying to nudge the two sides closer together by not only relaying messages from one side to the other, but indicating areas of flexibility and sometimes introducing ideas of their own, on their own authority, that might help find a way through. They must painstakingly build up areas of common ground, and suggest how outstanding obstacles could be overcome, or worked around.

The role of a chair in a multilateral negotiation is similar: finding the ground for compromise, pushing, sometimes quite hard, to bring recalcitrant parties on board. It is tough work and mediators, including many SRSGs, often do the role only for a year or two before moving on. In the preparations for an EU -Africa Summit in 2014, we had a very difficult argument on migration in the senior officials meeting I was chairing – a big meeting with 53 African and 28 European countries all represented.

Gradually we adjusted the text, using some creative ambiguity, until all parties were on board except the South African, who stuck to a hard line. Fortunately I knew their representative well, the Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Ministry, so I addressed him directly: ‘Jerry, we can put in a footnote saying South Africa doesn’t agree with this paragraph, but then everyone else who has accepted the compromise will want footnotes too.

It’ll become a Christmas tree, footnotes hanging off every paragraph. And in any case you wouldn’t want South Africa to become just a footnote?’ ‘Nick,’ he replied, ‘South Africa will never be merely a footnote . .. But I take your point. I will recommend this text to my authorities.’ The next year we had a similar problem at the EU -Africa summit on migration in Valletta, Malta. The European side had got tougher and at the senior officials meeting there was gridlocked on the asylum text.

‘A thoughtful and entertaining journey into the world of diplomacy. A must-read for anyone interested in how it really works or aspiring to work as a diplomat.’ Baroness Cathy Ashton, former High Representative of the EU ‘A vital guide. Diplomacy is sometimes glamorous, often painstakingly slow, but Nick Westcott reminds us that it is the vital hinge that keeps doors and windows open between countries. And that’s never been more important than now as a generation of politicians try to slam doors shut.’

Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, former UN Deputy Secretary-General ‘Nick Westcott deftly exhibits the mechanics of diplomacy. His eye is acute and original, and, valuably, he can draw on the experience of both professional diplomat and seasoned academic: a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the world today.’ Zeinab Badawi, Journalist, filmmaker, writer and President of SOAS ‘This book provides a precious insight into what diplomacy is today, in real life, with accurate and sharp descriptions, thoughtful analysis, and a style that makes it a pleasure to read.

Nick shares stories, lessons learned and wisdom that are bringing us to the heart of an exceptional practitioner’s experience: that of serving for decades one of the best national diplomatic services, and the European Union’s unique “external action service”, in years of turbulent transitions. A must-read for all those interested in how diplomacy works in real life!’ Federica Mogherini, Rector of College of Europe, Bruges and former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs (2015-20) and Italian Foreign Minister ‘Anyone working in international relations needs to understand how it gets done in practice, and this book is a practical, readable and wonderfully witty guide to the diplomatic arts, illustrated with the kind of observations that can only come from deep experience of the whole range of diplomatic activities.’

Bronwen Maddox, Director and Chief Executive of Chatham House OceanofPDF.com How to be a Diplomat With the international system entering a period of extreme flux, diplomacy has never been more important, and how to do it successfully more relevant. This book considers what diplomacy is, its purpose, rules, structures, how it is done, what it involves, the skills required, the impact of technological and societal changes, and how diplomats ensure success.

In short, it is about handling people and problems, particularly in other countries, without coming to blows. Drawing on the author’s extensive personal experience, this readable volume focuses on the practical problems diplomats regularly face, such as negotiating an agreement, working with a hostile government, dealing with dual nationals imprisoned for political reasons, looking after local staff, engaging with civil society, responding to humanitarian crises, and knowing what to do if a war breaks out on your doorstep.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: a23e01d8adfd9e93
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 6,353,345 bytes (6.059 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781032836171, 9781032875842, 9781003533436
• Pages: 366
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 486.32 minutes
• Total Words: 97,265
• Total Characters: 592,632
• Average Words per Page: 265.75
• Average Characters per Page: 1619.21

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