The Hague

The final leg of the EU tour took the DAL students to The Hague in Holland. Straight after NATO, we drove 2 hours outside Belgium for a meeting at the diplomatic training academy known as the Clingendael Institute.  The concluding day consisted of visiting the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice.

Talks at this institution differed from others we have heard as these presentations were given by academics of diplomacy rather than government officials. Presentations offered views on ‘East Asia in the 21^st Century’, a topic of great interest to me. An introduction was made by Director of the Institute, Jan Melissen, who is well known in public diplomacy.

Ingrid d’Hooghe discussed expectations of China, predicting that China will become a superpower by 2025 in par with the United States. China’s new assertiveness in international relations is causing difficulties for international policy-makers. She suggested also that by 2020 China may collapse as a response to nationalistic regime, irresponsible stakeholders, or corruption. However the question on when to sacrifice ideology for power was raised during the session. Our lecturer Abdel-ilah Bennis made a great point that it was due to the arrogance of Western political and economical ideology that led to China’s rise.

With the example of Japan, Maaike Okano-HeijmansFrans-Paul van der Putten illustrated how economic diplomacy is the ‘Asian way of doing things’. The involvement of government in commercial activity is common and it is through investment and trade that Japan communicates with neighbouring countries. spoke broadly on international security in Asia from discussing Chinese sales of weapons to the threat of a nuclear weapon war posed by Western nations.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was particularly stimulating as we had the chance to observe a hearing presented by a secret witness on the Katanga Case. Unlike the International Court of Justice (also known as the ‘Peace Palace’), the ICC is an independent judicial court that has no association to the United Nations. The ICC acts as the last resort in investigating cases and only deals with grave crimes like genocide which may be referred by the UN Security Council. The objective of the court is to establish the truth by investigating incriminating evidence in exonerating circumstances. If there are reasonable grounds to believe a person has committed a crime after the investigation, a national arrest can be warranted.

After these visits, a few of us took the chance to travel to Amsterdam to enjoy the vibrancy offered by the capital city.

Inside NATO

Visiting the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Brussels was the highlight for many DAL students, although I walked in hesitantly. We were welcomed by the Deputy Head, Michael Rühle, who gave us an overview of NATO’s work and operations. 

In general, NATO is a military organisation that has a membership of 28 sovereign states from Europe and North America. The organisation was set up to protect Europe’s “democratic half” and deter threats, but change in policy is expected in light of changing circumstances. There was fear that NATO would be deemed useless after the Cold War but the need for border security was required to protect countries from hostile invasion. It wasn’t until the Balkan War when NATO had to use force for the first time, and it must be stressed that NATO does not have its own army. As told by our host, NATO serves as a crisis manager, building a political and military network that tries not to burden the economy. Yet since the 9/11 crisis in 2001, NATO’s services have been heightened by its members, moving NATO from securing borders to “managing challenges of a global nature”.

First Secretary, Leo Tomlin shared information on UK Operations and Intelligence in NATO, which gave students a great insight to how intelligence is used in the military. While addressing NATO’s efforts in carrying out UN mandates, diplomats try to deliver UK policies to what NATO should be doing and how the military should interact with the civilian world – this applies to all member states. Maintaining an effective alliance is a political debate and issues are tackled with early consensus. The aim is not to make war an instrument to resolve issues, but it is apparent that coordinating military and civilian organisations is a great challenge. The gender issue was brought up, and were foretold that gender mainstreaming is part of NATO’s training and operation yet this is not completely transparent from my point of view.

Colonel Andrew Budd from the UK briefed us on NATO’s military strategies. In 2001, NATO declared Article 5 of the UN Charter to be embedded in their strategy - an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all, which has shaped NATO’s operations since. Before the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, war was an act of survival. The strategy to deter the enemy was to match capabilities. Today, the military acts as “peace enforcers”, just as the UN peacekeepers engage in hostile environments for humanitarian assistance.

Inevitably, the subject of Afghanistan surfaced, with Colonel Budd explaining that NATO expanded ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) around the Afghanistan mission. Troops were spread thin when first entering the terrain which caused problems in aiding any humanitarian efforts. The UN wants to lead and dictate a plan on the political side with NATO leading from a military angle. We were told that police force in Afghanistan will increase in the next 2-5 years as part of a civilian reconstruction effort, which makes me wonder what they are doing now. The Colonel had shown support in wanting money spent to train local police than to NATO, which is a small relief, nonetheless, with NGOs in the area reluctant to work with NATO, their work in Afghanistan seems far from over.

Visiting the EU, Brussels

As part of an educational networking opportunity, students of the Diplomatic Academy of London were invited to visit several government offices around Europe. Our first stop was at the capital of Belgium, Brussels, where we joined civil servants working at the European Parliament and the European Commission in February 2010.

At the European Parliament (EP), speaker Alexandros Karides gave an insightful overview about what work is carried out in this institution. The EP remains to be the only multinational parliament in the world which has at least 23 official working languages. Before the Treaty of Maastricht was implemented, the parliament had no power which is why former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher described the EP as the “Mickey Mouse Parliament”. With 736 members and roughly 9000 people working at the EP, its parliamentary power is more than verified. Furthermore, signing the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007 increased the EP’s involvement in legislative process through extended co-decision with the Council of Ministers. Presidents are elected every 5 years and 20 parliamentary committees and sub-committees exist to tackle the issues of security and defence, human rights, trade and the like. The EP is the place to work if one wanted to become a translator or interpreter, yet with 23 working languages the challenge is to familiarise oneself with at least 5 Europeans languages and have the ability to cross-feed interpret at live meetings.

Jo Vandervappellen at the European Commission (EC) added detail on the Treaty of Lisbon as this defines what the EU can and cannot do, and what means it can use. The treaty reinforces democracy in the EU and its capacity to promote the interests of its citizens on a day-to-day basis. Mr Vandervappellen described the EU as “supranational” as the sovereignty of each member states are handed over to favour the international institution. Keeping ones sovereignty means keeping ones independence, however when joining an integrated structure shared by other countries, all members must amalgamate economically and politically. EU members have exclusive rights to finance and trade sectors and help support, coordinate and supplement actions on education and culture. France has some basic position in the EU, leading the institution to develop its structure by sharing competencies.

In regards to EUs external relations, Jean François Cautain said the EU must remain a global economic player in order to influence external dimensions of internal policies. This includes policies on the environment, trade, agriculture, energy, justice and home affairs. The EU acts as a single legal personality therefore whatever law is passed must be implemented by member states. The strength of the law depends on the country’s position on the matter such as the ban on public smoking. The High Representative of the EU, currently Catherin Ashton from the UK, presides over the Foreign Affairs Council and supervises political dialogue on behalf of others. This is important in placing the EU in the same importance as other international institutions like the UN. The EU has sustained peace within the continent as all members must resolve any humanitarian issues with other states before it becomes an official member. Turkey is currently having problems joining the EU as it does not recognise Cyprus as a state. Without respecting this condition, candidates will fail to join the EU. 

Selection of Diplomatic Agents

Most modern states entrust the conduct of their diplomatic business from the rank of ambassador to a professional diplomatic service, who begin their careers at junior level and gradually rise to higher ranks. In the UK, the Foreign Secretary has total power over the most important appointments without the consultation of the Prime Minister. Whereas in the US, the Constitution (Section 2.2) declares that “the President shall nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls.”

In most countries, it is an essential requirement that candidates entering the diplomatic service be a subject or citizen of the country. A further requirement is generally a university honours degree, and satisfactory performance in an examination. Candidates are tested for their aptitude in dealing with administrative problems posed by a given dossier; in the handling of discussion in small groups and in committee drafting sessions. Their character and personality are assessed after searching observation and the application of psychological tests. Even after all this, a diplomatic appointment can be rejected by host countries depending on the appointees past to conflicting nationalism, controversial nature in the past or otherwise. A representative should have a good all round knowledge of her own country, rooted in familiarity with its history and culture and have a good grasp of the forces at work in its social, political and economic life.

Appointments of diplomats vary. Mid-management status ambassadors are fast-tracked from PhD level, whereas political appointees are made to those who have been loyal to the service through a degree of time. Ambassadors are competent to carry on negotiations with the sovereign herself, and can demand access to the Head of State at any time but this is limited by the etiquette of the court or government to which she is accredited to. Legates and nuncios are religious figureheads such as the Pope, who can act as a diplomat in certain missions. The title of envoy is ordinarily a custom given to an agent of second class. Chargé d’affaires are accredited to the minister for foreign affairs and appointed as a temporary deputy when the Head of Mission is absent or pending the appointment of a successor.

In the UK, appointments are celebrated by visiting the Queen in national dress. Only after this visit, the appointee can adhere to the title of ‘diplomat’ and may begin their mission by meeting ministers and Head of Intelligence. A courtesy call is made to the doyen (dean of diplomatic core who is the longest serving ambassador) prior to a mission.

When a diplomat is not on mission, they are simply civil servants in their appointed country. The road to becoming a diplomat is strictly selective by the Heads of State, however there are several routes to climbing the diplomatic ladder.