Contemporary Economic Diplomacy
F05, S07
Geoffrey Pigman
What is economic diplomacy? How does the study of economic diplomacy help us to understand international relations and to analyze conflict? How has diplomacy been studied up until now, and how have the particular emphases of diplomatic studies shaped our views of the activity and purpose of diplomacy? What critical theoretical tools can we use to understand diplomacy and how it may have changed in contemporary times? Since the end of the Cold War, actors other than nation-states, subnational governments and regional entities, global firms, nongovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, and the like increasingly engage in activities akin to the diplomatic activities of governments. Domestic business and political interests have become more directly involved in diplomacy. The evolution of transport and communications technologies has had a significant impact on the core functions of diplomacy. This has made possible a broader understanding of diplomacy that can be grounded in concepts of identity and difference, language and communication, discourse and power. This course will seek to develop this perspective, in part through the use of critical, non-Western, and gendered textual material.