Regional diplomacy: a piece in the neo-medieval puzzle?

Abstract

Until recently, diplomacy has been regarded as the exclusive domain of the State. Recent evolutions in diplomatic theory and practice however repudiate this State-centric exclusivity. Looking back at past diplomatic practices might shed new light on contemporary diplomacy. The neo-medieval paradigm claims that we are entering a new global setting which in certain aspects resembles that of the Middle Ages. When we see beyond the State-centric concept of diplomacy, a number of tendencies in today’s diplomacy come to the fore showing a striking resemblance with medieval diplomacy, and regional diplomacy plays a paramount role in this process.

Keywords

• regionalism
• paradiplomacy
• sub-State diplomacy
• neo-medievalism
• geopolitics
• diplomacy