In negotiating the removal of Soviet nuclear missiles from the Ukraine following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, for instance, US President Clinton made stops first in Brussels and Prague, where he met with Central European leaders, and then in Kiev before signing the finished agreement with Russian President Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Kravchuk in Moscow ( Talbott 2003, pp. High-level officials regularly visit each other directly. Whereas in the past it could take months for an ambassador to reach a host country, now a Secretary of State, Foreign Minister, Prime Minister, or President can often reach a counterpart by telephone in moments. The increasing density of diplomatic representation over the past 200 years can be seen in Figure 1. In 1817, there were fewer than 200 diplomatic missions in foreign countries today there are more than 8,000 ( Bayer 2006). Similar evidence of important diplomatic exchanges is found in the records of many other ancient cultural realms including the Chinese, Indian, and Mayan.Īn astounding volume of diplomatic exchange continues today. The concession seems to have influenced Persia, which supported Sparta against Athens thereafter, resulting in decisive Athenian defeat in less than a decade ( Thucydides 1989, Book 8: 18, 37, 58 Xenophon 1907, Book 2, ch. In 412 B.C.E., the Spartans conceded to recognize Persian sovereignty over the Greeks of Asia Minor. In the heroic period in ancient Greece, Odysseus was praised for diplomatic skill and words that “fell fast like snowflakes in winter” ( Adcock & Mosley 1975, p. Surviving writings from the ancient world contain records of treaties, such as the one concluded by the Egyptian and Hittite Empires around 1259 B.C.E. The Amarna Letters contain a record of the diplomatic correspondence between Egyptian Pharoahs and the other “Great Kings” of the 14th century B.C.E. For millennia, almost certainly longer than recorded history, they have discussed, codified, and reacted, and their reactions have been influenced by the content, form, and context of messages from adversaries and friends. Despite numerous reasons to mistrust the statements of adversaries and sometimes even of allies, diplomats and leaders draw inferences from conversations about each other's intentions.
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