Bilateral vs

Multilateral
Diplomacy
Is it really a competition?

DiploMul
Week 3
 Best
sellers Bilateral diplomacy

Multilateral diplomacy

*Regional diplomacy

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Types of diplomacy – principal format
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 Bilateral Diplomacy

1. Oldest form of diplomacy; since ancient kingdom times (security, trade).

2. Building block of multilateral diplomacy.
3. 15th Century Europe: resident ambassadors and 17th century French creating the foreign ministry.
4. 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) : customary diplomatic practices.
5. Task of bilateral diplomacy: representation, protection, negotiation, reporting, promotion.
6. Principal institutions: foreign ministry, embassies, consulates and foreign service.

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Bilateral
Diplomacy
States’ relations with individual foreign
states.

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 Four pillars of BD

01 Political 02 Economic – principal

the foundation of external relations between
states, including the pursuit of security
trade, investments, technology flows,
bilateral and multilateral agreements
covering a range of economic activities,
such as aid, technical co-operation, and
tourism

03 Public diplomacy 04 Consular diplomacy

culture promotion, education exchanges, covering visas and international travel
and media work, country branding and documentation, ‘diaspora diplomacy’
soft power mobilisation, some of it via
the Internet

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Why is it important?

Why BD matters:

● Countries can engage directly with other countries;

● Strengthen states’ own foreign objectives;
● Foundation of constructing coalitions of interests in regional and
multilateral arena.
● Strength of a states’ bilateral connections impacts its standing in the
global arena.

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Bilateral Relationship Typology: Identification of
States’ BD Priority

‘Core’
all or most of the immediate
neighbours, major powers,
other countries that are special
importance. ± total 12 or 15
countries.

‘Priority’
countries with special
connections: political,
economic, cultural, or
‘Periphery’
Country ethnic.
The rest, divided ± 20 countries.
into: already have
intensive connections
and awaiting
exploitation.
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Bilateral Relationship Typology

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Bilateral Relationship Typology

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 Bilateral Diplomacy Task

Promotion Outreach Negotiation

Intertwined with each other: building new and proactive connections that are
both extensive and intensive, pursuing a proactive agenda

Feedback Management Servicing

Embassies in providing home-
country focused analysis
The supervision of the effective
functioning of diplomatic units,
but also a new role for embassies,
vis-à-vis the MFA, in handling
the bilateral relationship
Protection and consular services
for citizens, as also the new task
of connecting with the diaspora
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Conduct of Bilateral Diplomacy
Practice of BD

Dialogue, formal, informal,

off-the-record, casual, long-
winded.

Result
Agreements, exchanges of
letters, protocols, accords
or treaties.

Process
Continual, unceasing, at times
conflictual.

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Now go and read reference articles
for multilateral diplomacy…

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