The Resilience of Diplomacy : Adaptation and Continuity of Diplomatic Practice in Crises

Sammanfattning: In this thesis, I study how crises impact diplomatic norms and practices. Diplomacy plays a fundamental role in enabling peaceful and constructive relations between states. When successful, it can provide global common goods, ranging from international security, trading rules, to peaceful enforcement of international agreements, as well as resolving collective action problems such as climate change mitigation. Despite this crucial role, we still know relatively little about diplomatic norms and practices, the unwritten rules that structure interactions between diplomats. In particular, we have an insufficient understanding of how and when these norms and practices change. The institution of diplomacy is often described as a conservative one – it upholds a system of conventions that ensure the stability and predictability of relations between states. However, in light of recent political developments that pose challenges to cooperation within the framework of international institutions, it is essential to comprehend the effects of crises on diplomatic practice.Three independent empirical studies are conducted to analyze diplomatic practices in the context of heightened levels of international contestation and crisis. Two of these studies focus on the way in which diplomats responsible for negotiating EU foreign policy cope with increasing contestation between member states. This internal crisis necessitates the development and implementation of practices that ensure that the EU continues to produce common positions and policies. The third study analyzes the way in which the states and state leaders of the G20 dealt with the uncertainty that arose following the transition to virtual summitry during the COVID-19 crisis. The study finds that the transition to virtual summitry created opportunities for signaling status in new ways. Finally, a fourth essay focuses on how practices should be conceptualized and studied. This essay emphasizes the need to understand two dimensions of practices (the rules and logic of a practice) in order to study them and understand their effects.Together, the essays show that diplomatic norms and practices can and do change as a result of crises, but that this change is limited by the dispositions and structural conditions that shape the selection of practices. Shifts in practices linked to crises can thus be likened to how a storm affects the movements of a buoy anchored to the ocean floor. When a storm hits, the buoy might sway, but its movement is ultimately restricted by the length and strength of the chain holding it in place.