Empathy in Diplomacy

Fatić, Aleksandar and Korać, Srđan and Bulatović, Aleksandra (2011) Empathy in Diplomacy. The Review of International Affairs, LXII (1142). pp. 5-13. ISSN 0486-6096

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Abstract

The authors argue that diplomacy as a higher-order cooperative activity is possibly only against the backdrop of assumptions about a prior disposition of those taking part in it to reach out to their counterparts not only rationally, but also emotionally. While the traditional, negotiations-based model of diplomacy continuesto be verbally depicted asthe generic model for diplomacy as a whole, it is essentially a negative stereotype that portrays diplomatic relations as compromise-seeking efforts between otherwise entrenched opposed positions. Modern diplomacy transcends this traditional model and can thus be called “integrative diplomacy”: it arises from broadening perceptions of common identities and similarities between the various communities, and thusrests much more on empathy, sympathy and solidarity than the negotiations-based model. It is thus not surprising that the integrative methodology of diplomacy makes it predominantly multilateral, as opposed to structurally fundamentally bilateral traditional negotiations.

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