ESSAY QUESTION

4. IS TECHNOLOGY AN AID OR A THREAT TO DIPLOMACY?

Since the existence of politics and the state, Diplomacy had play an important role to
connect people with other people in terms of political, economics and socio-cultural. As
what we can see today, Diplomacy has become more global, complicated and fragmentary.
Changes in diplomacy can be seen with involvement of many actors in the area of
international cooperation and also, the introduction of new diplomatic tool to engage with,
as for example, the rise of technology which have revolutionize the relationship among
nations.

Rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has led to
significant changes in modern diplomacy. Access to information and control over it
contribute to national- interest of a state and empowering the non-state actors in
international relations. Diplomacy is a way to set and achieve foreign goal, which this
system basically powered by diplomats who were providing information and to negotiate.
Since the early days of diplomacy, functions of diplomacy, such as negotiations and
representation have been used, and these core functions have not changed abruptly across
the centuries.

But as the world entering the era of digital governance and technology, the old-race of
territory expansion, military power, natural resources and espionage activities between
states had been wipe out as information, technology and institutional flexibility have gained
importance in diplomacy and international relations. The powers of these new aid or
threat have become valuable tools of political actors in the efforts to achieve their goals
and thus, influence the essence of modern diplomacy. As the world transform and became
more integrated, new international political possibilities arise from technological
developments. Nowadays, diplomacy is moving not through people diplomats, but
through the media over which information travels via television, radio, phones, and the
Internet.

In order for better understanding, evolution of diplomacy is important as it is a process that
changes continuously. Many factors and pros/cons are taken account for changing is
functions and characters. In classic diplomacy, world order are consist of various political
system that been applied to particular parts of world. For this, diplomatic institution
developed slowly in different form and stage in the evolution of international society.
During traditional diplomacy system, there is no permanent diplomatic mission, which the
state only sends emissaries and ad hoc basis to transact and relay particular business or
information. In Greek era, technology of diplomacy are based on talk or negotiations, that
been conducted orally with full publicity. The ratification also based on public exchange of
oath or promise. Of course, in the traditional system, diplomacy was dominated by the
monarch. The foreign policy was conducted by elites the nobility and gentry - and
diplomacy was under executive control.

Then, the evolution of technology on diplomacy continued in Italian renaissance as it first
developed a systematic service and recognized the need for establishing the team of
professional diplomats and the most important, the establishment of permanent diplomatic
mission with ambassadors of resident in the capital of the country to which they accredited.
The technology in diplomacy in this era is still based on negotiation but in the form of
personal interview between two heads of the states, which called as diplomacy by
conference. Both heads of state have their external partner standby, which are the foreign
ministry, the parliament, regional government, and the ministries of direct concern in
dialogue plus arms length contact with the media and business. Normally, the main focuses
of dialogue are on high diplomacy such as issues of peace, security and cooperation.

Basically, in order for one state to gain information, the sending diplomatic mission need to
conduct diplomacy and communicate with host state, enabling them to have regular and
complex relations as it is the communication system of international society. Diplomatic
mission are expected to protect the interests of the home country and ensuring that any
activities happened in host country should not have any negative effects on the home
country. The diplomats play role to avoid any source of conflict or uncomfortable situations
between the countries. They also advise the home government, implement policy, promote
relationship and set the pattern of embassy-host country dialogue. These functions is vital
to classical diplomacy as it became tools to gain information of the host country which may
consist of details of the political, commercial, military, economic or cultural environment,
resource of the host country, together with development and changes.

The new modern diplomatic era started after the First World War when international
relationship became worldwide. As world become more globalize, there were movement
toward greater democratic control, the increasing importance of economics and finance,
the inventions of modern science, and better conception of the community of international
interests. As the idea of open diplomacy been widespread throughout the world, technology
aids have been invented in order for diplomacy to become more effective and efficient. The
inventions of phone by Alexander Graham Bell and the creation of international phone line
network allow two-way media through which users interact among themselves without any
centralized information. The existence of telegraph, TV and Radio which have the ability to
reproduce a single source of information in many copies in many locations also become tool
of diplomacy and especially powerful. This combination of pictures and sound affects
viewers emotionally and intellectually, which allow states to follow through the situation
happened around the globe, more importantly, situations that relate with their own
national-interests.

The development of these print media, telegraph, phone, TV and radio generally affected
the everyday life of people, especially on diplomacy. The increasing importance and power
of the press has led to the appointment of a Press department to major embassies abroad
to secure the views of his government obtain adequate publicity. These are the tool of
informal penetration of other nations. It is also very important that now the media is using
as a tool of propaganda. Although in traditional diplomacy era has used publicity to gain
their ends in negotiation, propaganda has become a permanent feature in the diplomatic
practice of certain countries in this modern era.

The transformation of diplomacy happens at high-speed. If we take three basic features of
diplomacy as the starting point (representation, negotiations and exchange of information)
we see major changes. Todays, the global information environment is defining the work of
foreign offices; the ways of communication technology are diversified; innovative
information technologies are introduced; fast exchange of information minimize the
importance of previously planned policy; fast decisions are emphasized and experts role in
negotiations becomes more important as aid of technology came to help with.

Technology gradually entering itself into more aspects of life and more corners of the world
as it can influence and change the powers of nation-state and the very definition of national
security. The rise of the Internet has greatly shortened the time-horizons of diplomatic
decision making. Before this, when diplomatic mission are without technology, it takes time
to pass information from host country to home country especially the location between
state is far than each other. But with technology aid, news and information from distant
land can become public knowledge more quickly than ever before, which make diplomacy
much harder to carry on. It is because the information comes in very fast and state need to
make decision much faster than under the previous circumstances. State usually had short
but adequate in time and procedures for absorbing information and making intelligent
judgments.

The technology of internet has positive and negative effects to current modern diplomacy.
In both sides, Internet allows states to acquire lot of very high velocity information and a
huge amount of information coming together in real-time situation. But in contrast, fast-
paced decision making are needed to figure out a procedure and mindset for making
intelligent judgments, which policymakers must learn restraint and establish orderly
procedures for processing information. The Internet provides innovative means for outreach
wide public streams, at home and abroad. The foreign ministry website, supplemented by
the websites of embassies, provides a starting point to reach out publics, to communicate
information, images and video clips. In the same way, citizen use these networks to
exchange idea and news.

In addition, Blogs also been used and have come into their own both for privileged
communication and for open exchanges. Some also use the same methods for propaganda
and to control. Inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the communication technology
increase efficiency as ICT allows draft and proposals to go direct from desk-office to top
echelons, with copies to the intermediate hierarchy. Thus, information can flow much faster
and more easily among different governmental departments, reducing processing time,
paperwork pressure, and eliminating long, bureaucratic and inefficient approval procedures.
It equally facilitates storing and collecting data, reduction of labour costs and information
handling cost and the speed of accuracy of time processing.

As the Internet and the World Wide Web has reached the point when nobody can afforded
to ignore it as it now become a new communication tools which allows free flow of content
and information. As a result information is no longer limited to privileged government
officials but accessed by the information by the general public. This has led states losing the
monopoly of information they once enjoyed. The digital communication technologies make
development in any part of the world become more visible and creates a situation for the
general public take part in the conduct of diplomacy. This involvement has led to particular
flavours of diplomacy, which is public diplomacy in diplomatic representation. As the
Internet is increasingly accepted as a media, information published on the Internet should
have the same status as statement given by diplomats or diplomatic note sent from the
ministry. This suggest that although virtual diplomatic missions may be virtual
representation of their physical counterpart and not having same binding effects as the one
issued from traditional diplomatic missions.

With online presence of diplomatic missions, there is changing in nature and procedure of
bilateral and multilateral negotiations. Technology of digital communication made
negotiations possible to go beyond state to state engagements, plus contribution of every
individual and organization directly contribute by virtue of online interaction using internet.
Forum, chat sessions, whiteboard, e-mail message, voice & video call communication and
other similar tools that have emerged as excellent ways to perform certain groundwork in
the area of diplomacy and negotiations.

However, the practice of online digital diplomacy reduces the personality and ability to
witness event which increases interaction and friendliness. This defect in diplomacy
invariably creates vulnerability option that predisposes diplomatic missions to attack by
unknown person who may be cyber terrorist or external adversaries. Since the this new type
of diplomacy cannot replace the culture of physical relationship in an office and interaction
in the embassy, correspondence emanating in some case can mislead or generate wrong
perception or interpretation of diplomatic action resulting from lack of identity verification.
In this regard, such diplomatic action as negotiation and information management may be
compromised.
Besides that, this new diplomacy creates digital gap among persons with low competence in
the use of internet as some people lack competence because of inadequate digital
knowledge. While these have made pessimists to doubt the potential of digital technologies
for reshaping diplomatic relations especially in access, flow and exchange of information,
the avalanche of new actors, emerging issues and changes can be tolerated and allowed to
flourish. This as we is inevitable but amenable because new technologies as in digital
diplomacy come with new challenges and benefits to the people, states and the world.

In conclusion, the recognition of the Internet and other information technologies are no
longer a simple aid or threat in the conduct of world affairs but a powerful engine for
change. In my humble opinion, technologies are not only remaking economies, but
transforming peoples values, identities, and social practices. Moreover, these changes not
just exist within boundaries of nation-states but it also move in all sort of transnational
communications. These changes are enabling all sorts of newcomers to enter the fray of
international politics. NGOs, diasporic communities, critics of land human rights abuses,
antiglobalization protesters, journalists, indigenous peoples, and others are nding their
own voices on a global public stage. More ominously, the very technology that is
empowering civil society and businesses is enabling political extremists to build global
terrorist networks and pioneer alarming new forms of warfare. From what I can see, the
transformation of diplomacy on this modern era had a significant development in human
history. What may matter most in the future is our ability to hear each others stories, learn
from them, and perhaps develop a new global story.