DIPLOMACY, BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL
• Part I is a test of 15 statements and students must answer whether each is true or false and justify their decision according to the views and analysis offered in the prescribed mandatory readings. Therefore, they have to briefly explain why they affirm the statement is true or false. Students’ answers should be between 50-100 words (per question). Please note that your answer should be based on the mandatory readings of Unit 2.
• Part II consists of 10 short essay topics where students must justify their answer. Answers should be between 200-250 words (per question). Please note that your answer should be based on the mandatory readings of Unit 2. You can also use other materials, which need to be properly quoted.
MASTER IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND DIPLOMACY AND RELATED QUALIFICATIONS
Subject: B2.516. International Diplomacy – Theory and Practice. 202011
Semester: March 2022 – May 2022
Continuous Assessment Task 2 (CAT)
Subject coordinator:
Course Instructors:
Student name:
CAT 2. DIPLOMACY, BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL
PART 1: True/False Questions
1. Bilateral diplomacy is incidental to the security of a state.
(True) (False)
2. The practice of diplomacy has changed little over the last century.
(True) (False)
3. Generally foreign ministries have responded poorly to the demands of present day diplomacy.
(True) (False)
4. On posting a diplomat should focus on the governing elite, the diplomatic corps and on a few influential individuals.
(True) (False)
5. Bilateral relations are always more important that multilateral engagement.
(True) (False)
6. Public diplomacy is about “changing minds.”
(True) (False)
7. Public diplomacy is directed only at foreign audiences.
(True) (False)
8. Multilateral diplomacy is growing globally.
(True) (False)
9. When universal conferences fail we should not blame the format.
(True) (False)
10. Regional interaction reduces the prospects of conflict.
(True) (False)
11. The growth of ad hoc international groupings demonstrates the failure of multilateralism.
(True) (False)
12. UN diplomacy is tied to the diplomatic corps of state linked diplomats.
(True) (False)
13. Change in the UN system has come about through informal rather than formal processes.
(True) (False)
14. The U.N.’s mandate to maintain “peace and security” encompasses greater wisdom than is sometimes recognized.
(True) (False)
15. Streamlining and rationalising the existing multilateral system will not ensure the needs of today’s world will be met.
(True) (False)
PART 2: Short Essay Questions
1. Analyse the changed requirements for diplomats today in relation to reporting and negotiation.
2. Evaluate the observation that bureaucratic rigidities prevailing in MFAs often lead to an ineffective diplomacy.
3. Examine the assertion that US President Trump’s bilateralism hastened rather than stemmed the US’s relative decline in East Asia.
4. Examine why it is suggested that “Soft power” is not necessarily a useful enabler of a state’s foreign policy.
5. Investment in public diplomacy in Asia appears to have been a chain reaction to the regional pioneer China – discuss.
6. Assess the functions of Multilateral Diplomacy.
7. Reason is the prime driver of the international order – discuss critically.
8. Examine how the UN might respond to anticipated shifts in global power balances.
9. What issues are raised by the emergence of a ‘networked diplomatic community’?
10. Discuss critically the five major features said to characterise the new global strategic threat landscape and their relevance to the UN.