Objeto

• In 2005, the German Embassy in New Delhi created an internet-based “Science Forum” that takes advantage of past and existing S&T cooperation, and the presence in India of a large number of holders of Humboldt and other distinguished fellowships, for generating ideas on expanding mutual cooperation.16

• In 2004, the Danish Embassy in Israel created 10 functional teams, cutting across ranks, to pursue priority subjects. • Many countries hold annual or biennial conferences of

all their envoys posted abroad (some also hold smaller conferences of ambassadors in particular regions). Such conferences are a vehicle for organizational communica- tion. Indirectly producing experience-sharing and reform generation, they are an annual feature in some large ser- vices (China, Japan, Germany, Thailand; UK held its fi rst- ever conference of all ambassadors in January 2002, as part of its reform process; India held its fi rst in December 2008). A few small networks seldom use this device, but hold episodic gatherings in regional clusters. Despite the cost, the conferences are worthwhile, especially when held in the home capital, with careful planning and follow-up.

• Singapore invites its honorary consuls to a conference in Singapore every fi ve or six years, to show the importance attached to their voluntary work, and to give them insight into Singapore’s worldview; in 2010 Kenya joined the rather few countries that do the same. Malta is to run training programs for its honorary consuls.

16 _{Humboldt fellowships are among the most distinguished scholarships}

Innovation can be facilitated but not ordered. Systems that permit easy, fl at internal communication and seek out ideas from the shop fl oor are the winners.

Human Resources

The range of entrants into diplomatic services the world over is increasingly diverse in the subjects studied, regional and personal background, as well as age (intake age has risen in most countries). Yet, they are elites in talent quality, chosen as the best among a large number of applicants.17 _{Effi cient management of this resource}

is the hallmark of the best services. This entails the following: • Objective, transparent management that carries conviction

with the cadre; oversight of this process is usually a major responsibility for the MFA permanent head.

• Career management that tolerates individuality and facili- tates early selection of high fl yers.

• A calibrated promotion system, ideally a blend of in-depth tests, transparent selection, grooming the best for high offi ce.

• “Bidding” methods for assignments, via an open process. • Inculcation of language, area and thematic expertise to match

actual needs, as they evolve.

• Extensive “in” and “out” placement at all levels, breaking down network insularity, real and perceived, including assign- ments with non-state (business associations, think tanks). The best services use elaborate methods for talent identifi cation and selection of high value assignments.

Examples: The British FCO uses a “Job Evaluation Senior Posts” system to assign a numerical value to each (a JESP score

17 _{The ratio between applicants and those selected varies between 1 in 20 to}

of 8 for the head of mission (HOM) at Port Moresby, 9 for the deputy chief of mission (DCM) in Lisbon, 20 to 22 for the top six directors general at the FCO, 22–23 for the envoys to Delhi, Mos- cow, Berlin, and Paris, 25 for the UK permanent representative at Brussels, and 28 for the permanent under-secretary, among the 450 senior jobs). All the posts are up for bidding, with a single page application, to be considered by the “No. 1 Board,” fi nal approval by the Foreign Secretary. Singapore uses an annual “Current Evaluated Potential” (CEP) method (borrowed years ago from Shell), which calculates the level that all offi cials with more than fi ve years of service are expected to reachafter about 20 to 25 years of service and then guides the offi cials’ career tracks accordingly. The score is not communicated to the offi cials, but those estimated as the best are groomed for high offi ce. Australia demands that those aspiring to promotion must apply. The US, with a like method, demands that applicants who fail to get pro- moted for six years must leave the service. Mexico requires promotion applicants to write out why they merit promotion; they take a written exam in several subjects; the board that inter- views them includes a professor from a reputed university (the applicants pay their own travel cost). In 1995, Nepal opened up 10 percent of posts to lateral entry by qualifi ed specialists; con- trary to initial doubt, this has worked well.

Key Themes

Several propositions permeate this work, recurring in the follow- ing chapters.

1. A need for mutual learning: At the EU the heads of MFA admin- istration meet periodically to exchange ideas on manage- ment. In 2005, Canada and the UK launched a small closed Western group of heads of human resources that meets annually. No other regional group, including the advanced Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the

Caribbean Community (CARICOM), has established a mech- anism for such exchanges.18

A regional group might attempt a collective benchmarking exercise, to benefi t all its members. In 2000–2001, Australian foreign ministry teams visited eight countries with a lengthy questionnaire, spending three days with the selected coun- terparts. The results were shared, after a fashion; the partici- pating MFAs received a homogenized summary of the results, but that gave little indication of the actual methods in each country. In 2005 Canada was reportedly in the midst of its own benchmarking effort; it is not known if they shared the full results with anyone. Why not undertake benchmark- ing on a regional basis?

Many MFA management ideas are transportable and can be applied by other foreign ministries, with due adaptation; perhaps 80 percent or more of the practical innovations worked out at different places fall into this category.19

2. Stronger professionalism: Diplomacy emerged as a profession at the start of the twentieth century, with a clear ethos and a code of conduct, partly enshrined in the 1961 Vienna Con- vention on Diplomatic Relation, though some working prin- ciples remain unwritten. Diplomacy gradually emerged as a profession with specialized knowledge and skill, though in the nineteenth century diplomats were poorly paid and were expected to have independent means to offset this. But even now, diplomacy is not widely accepted as requiring special- ized knowledge and skill. In most countries working profes- sionals face diffi culty in getting home administration counterparts to accept this. Is there a way out?

18 _{The author has discussed this informally with a couple of leading ASEAN}

members and at the CARICCOM secretariat; the idea is easy to implement.

19 _{A recent example: the British method of “challenge funds” where embas-}

sies abroad compete for promotion funding (for trade, FDI, culture or public diplomacy activities) has been copied by a few countries, including Australia. In 2008, the Indian Commerce Ministry borrowed this idea to urge Indian embassies to do more by way of export promotion.

True, unlike the legal profession, or chartered accoun- tancy, there is no regulated body of knowledge in this profes- sion nor a universally recognized test to screen those that have gained a suffi ciency of professional expertise. What we do have is a diffused body of craft skills and techniques, which diplomats learn when they join the profession, and begin to practice in their years of apprenticeship, that is, the junior ranks that they traverse before reaching quasi- autonomous positions. Most foreign ministries want to strengthen the professional competence of their staff, by encouraging continuous learning.

3. Reexamining the patronage method for appointing envoys: In a number of countries, unfortunately most of them developing states, envoy appointments are acts of government patron- age rewarding political warhorses put to pasture or remov- ing the awkward from the domestic scene. This seriously weakens their diplomatic networks and needs change. One may ask: does not the world’s superpower practice a similar method?

The US method has its rationale. The approximately 25 percent of its ambassadors that are appointed from out- side the professional service fall into two broad categories: those that are genuine public fi gures and a second motley group, composed of election campaign contributors, social climbers, and ruling administration cronies. Another element is crucial—the Washington DC culture of the revolving door and job shuffl e between congressional aides, thinktank schol- ars, lawyers and lobbyists, and especially the politically appointed offi cials that run the administration at levels of assistant secretaries of state and above. Political appointees often belong to this wide class of “public” servants. Many show genuine aptitude and perform well.

Few of these US conditions are replicated elsewhere. Admittedly, in many countries, some political appointments are successful. But often, nonprofessional appointees are pre- occupied with their status, especially their infl uence back

home and other minor issues.20 _{They seldom show leadership}

in the running of their embassies or commitment to their assigned tasks—and they are not easily amenable to MFA discipline.21

4. Open, inclusive, and multi-owner diplomacy: This is a hard les- son for a profession, accustomed to privileged dealings with foreign elites, to fi nd that many new interlocutors are now to be accommodated. Dialogue with nonstate actors can be strange and even disruptive. I recall well my trepidation in late 1992 when commencing dialogue with German NGO representatives on the Narmada project, then under consid- eration by the World Bank.22 _{In the event, the civil society}

representatives turned out to be eloquent, reasonable and more open to ideas than I had imagined. Other colleagues who have practiced such outreach speak of a like experience. Young diplomats, who do not carry the legacy baggage of their seniors, are more open to such contacts.

What is unique about these exchanges is that nonstate actors challenge the assumptions of professional diplomats and ask uncomfortable questions.23 _{On the fl ip side, diplomats}

20 _{In India,head of missionappointments are the prerogative of the prime}

minister. While no formal quota exists, in practice the noncareer appoint- ments do not exceed eight or ten at any point in time. This category includes appointments of retired foreign-service offi cials so that the number that come from outside the professional track are less than fi ve or six. Some among them have demanded the personal status of governors and cabinet ministers, which means nothing in their country of assignment; such personal ranks tend to give them infl ated notions of their importance. And yet, some nonca- reer envoys have delivered outstanding performance.

21 _{While instances of errant behavior are swept under the carpet in most}

countries, informal conversation with diplomats from many indicates that a deeper and more pervasive problem is that political appointees are often not focused on national tasks, and pursue personal agendas.

22 _{The Narmada project is a major river water management plan to bring ir-}

rigation and drinking water to a large region in Gujarat state in western India, and generate power as well. It has been executed in the period 1990–2010 un- der close supervision by the Indian Supreme Court. See: Rana, Inside Diplo-

macy (2002), p.370–3.

gain new domestic and foreign allies and strengthen their capacity for external engagement, to say nothing of credibility.

5. Training as central to the MFA’s future: A singular exception to a lack of consultation among foreign ministries on manage- ment issues is the “International Forum on Diplomatic Train- ing” run by the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and Georgetown University, of Washington DC, which holds annual meetings on training related issues. Regional training institutions also meet periodically, in several clusters.24 _The

quality and depth of discussion at these events shows that foreign ministries treat training as more important than ever before. An increasing number of countries have established new training institutions of their own, or are intensifying training activities. Mid-career and senior level training is a growth area; many countries have introduced courses for ambassadors. All this is to the good.

For the past ten years I have served on the part-time fac- ulty at DiploFoundation, specialized in diplomatic distance learning. It is self-evident that this format is ideal for foreign ministries that necessarily have about half their staff dis- persed around the world, who need intensive coaching, to expand their practical craft skills. MFAs would fi nd it useful to develop their own distance learning methods.

6. Implementing simple human resource management improvements: A major challenge for MFAs is to work out fair rotation in overseas postings, given that living conditions and the

diaspora representatives; we raised with them matters relating to cultural and economic cooperation, to enlist their support. When we mentioned to this group the possibility of bringing to a photo exhibition on the theme “Muslims in India,” the leader of one of the community groups asked: “Excellency, when will the Indian government put together an exhibition on ‘Hindus in India’?

24 _{In Asia, the ten ASEAN countries, and China, Japan, and South Korea meet}

annually, under the umbrella of the “ASEAN Plus Three” mechanism, but ASEAN has been unwilling to expand this to include other countries such as Australia and India.

attractiveness of capitals varies so greatly. A simple device is classifi cation of embassies abroad, in terms of the conditions in the country of assignment. An adjunct to this is to imple- ment a “bidding” system, where offi cials who are due to be posted abroad indicate their choices. It works surprisingly well, as preferences vary, dictated by a range of personal ele- ments. Empirical evidence suggests that many MFAs hesi- tate needlessly to implement this.25

A more diffi cult area is the promotion system, where besides factors such as seniority, ability, equity, and transparency, one has to consider also the ethos of the country and its value system. Often effi ciency and tradition have to be balanced against one another. But it is possible to engage MFA staff in dialogue in trying to fi nd the right policy mix, while also looking to the experience of other countries. Greater profes- sionalism demands, and hinges upon, giving weight to per- formance; this also means appointing young envoys and nurturing talent in a deliberate manner.

7. Intensifying the diplomatic process: All the change factors listed at the start of this chapter require that countries pursue diplomacy that is both extensive and intensive. They need to reach out to a wide catchment of states, and at the same time cultivate well a larger number of partner countries than before. Geography is no longer a limiting determinant in the ways it used to be in the past. One example: the group IBSA— composed of India, Brazil, and South Africa—where each member is geographically distant from the others, but each has a self-perception of a leading role on its continent, and some congruity in the positions each takes on major interna- tional issues.

In other regions of the world we see the emergence of similar innovative groups, exploiting economic and other opportu- nities that lie beneath the surface. Verily, each country, small

25 _{The Indian Ministry of External Affairs put this into practice in the late}

1990s and has found the results gratifying; the method is standard practice in many Western MFAs.

or big, is occupied with its own version of multipolar rela- tionship development. This adds to demands on foreign ministries and all other home agencies that are active in international affairs.

Some of the above themes will reappear in subsequent chapters. They also provide a backdrop against which the issues raised in this book may be seen.

Points for Refl ection

1. What is the borderline between correct and unacceptable domestic political involvement for professionals? In part the answer may vary in different countries, but is there a line that should not be transgressed?

2. Does the evolution of humanitarian law affect the domina- tion of the existing states system?

3. Is there a “right” technique for diplomatic systems in dealing with nonstate actors? What are the things they should guard against in such dealings?

Chapter Overview

Regional and “Plurilateral” Diplomacy 40 Typology 43

Success Factors 46

Variations 49

Plurilateral Groups 51

Innovation 52

Free Trade Agreements 55

Limiting Factors 57

Final Thoughts 59

Points for Refl ection 60

Regional Diplomacy