Information as the key function of Diplomacy. Lecture 1

Diplomacy is the area of activity of the authorized officials with the diversified targets, variety of problems connected with the great number of people to deal with. There are different views on the job description of diplomacy.
The Vienna Convention on the Diplomatic Relations of 1961 comes up with the accurate definition and the actual extent.
Diplomacy as the Genre of Activity

The functions of a diplomatic mission consist inter alia in:
representing the sending State in the receiving State;
protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and of its nationals, within the limits permitted by international law;
negotiating with the Government of the receiving State;
ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving State, and reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State;
promoting friendly relations between the sending State and the receiving State, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations.(Article 3 of the Vienna Convention of 1961)

The sending State must make certain that the agreement of the receiving State has been given for the person it proposes to accredit as head of the mission to that State.
The receiving State is not obliged to give reasons to the sending State for a refusal of agreement. (Article 4)

The sending State may, after it has given due notification to the receiving States concerned, accredit a head of mission or assign any member of the diplomatic staff, as the case may be, to more than one State, unless there is express objection by any of the receiving States.
If the sending State accredits a head of mission to one or more other States it may establish a diplomatic mission headed by a Charge d'affaires ad interim in each State where the head of mission has not his permanent seat.
A head of mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission may act as representative of the sending State to any international organization. (Article 6)

Information as the Key Function of Diplomacy
From the early days of the Diplomatic Service information was and is the key element of a diplomat’s activity. The accredited official was to collect the information and convey it respective to the interests of the involved parties.
In the course of time information has been getting more and more important and vital as the vehicle of understanding phenomena under rapid and intensive changes. The International situation has changed tremendously after the Second World War with the emergence of some new complex problems like Arms Race, ecology, human rights and some others. All this has widened the range of obligations put in front of the diplomats with regard of dealing and handling the information.
The other reason concerning the requirements was due to the fact that there appeared some other groups of the professionals involved in collecting the information – Mass Media and Intelligence people. How different is the information gained by diplomats? The information outcoming from the diplomatic sources should be official and analytical.

The requirements for the diplomatic analytical information:
It should be analytical and academic based on the careful analysis of all the factors concerning this or that problem;
The delineated conclusion should be based on the number of sources and the most realistic ones;
Since the activity of the diplomatic representations is focused on the political steps of the government the analytical work should be concentrated on the official pieces of documentation, speeches of the leaders and personal opinions of the elite.
The analysis should be accurate and correct based on the profound knowledge of the country, its people, political and cultural traditions. A diplomat who has a vague idea of the country and its people can hardly able to cope with the matter.
The analysis should be based on the information which is up-to-date. If it is done on the information which is out-of-date it can drive away from the clear picture and to the wrong decision.

The analytical information should reflect the actual state of things and not supposed to keep the bosses in the Centre happy with the too optimistic expectations.
The pieces of information should not be taken for granted and should be double-checked before it is put into analytical processing. The mass media people are sensitive to all sorts of sensations with the short-term effect.
All the pieces of information should be properly dressed with references and quotations with the indications of the sources.
In conclusion we do need to come up with some final comments:
Information is the “oil” of the diplomatic turn-over;
Involved professionals should make small but certain steps to avoid the “surprises”;
The collected and analyzed information should make up the right pattern for proper and correct decision;
It should be kept in mind that all the decisions taken in the sphere of Diplomacy are bound to have some legal consequences.

Issues for revision:
What is the key element in the Diplomatic activity?
Why has the information turned out to be that important after the Second World War?
How different is the diplomatic information from the one of the Mass Media and Intelligence?
What do we mean by saying “analytical” in relation to Information.
How important is the knowledge of the hosting country with regard to taking up the right decision?
What are the appropriate sources of the information that can be processed in the diplomatic analysis?