| No. XIII: Career Diplomats
An
insider’s insightful depiction of the intricacies within the British
foreign service. The factions are pitted against one another at
Whitehall, and those at odds with the mainstream are unexpectedly
singled out for a review by an external auditor. Who is to be trusted,
and how does the Service protect itself against infiltration,
turncoats, and spies? How does a diplomat survive, and what happens to
those who fall into disgrace?
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| No. XIV: Stamina - Fatigue
Webster
didn’t see it coming at Whitehall, and now she finds herself on an
exhausting odyssey spanning from the United Nations, to Australia, to
the Middle East, to Africa. A fast learner and shrewd diplomat, she
establishes her authority and makes an impressive career. Yet, the
pressures from her work is putting her under strain, which gradually
forces her to do some serious thinking about her future and,
ultimately, to make some hard choices for her future.
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| No. XV: Pragmatism - Flexibility
An
insider’s view on what it takes to survive as a diplomat traveling in
foreign lands, confronting utterly alien cultures and fishy host
governments. Webster continues reflecting upon her career, which she is
now viewing in the rearview mirror. Working for the British foreign
service is filled with opportunities and laden with multiple pitfalls,
as she has come to understand well enough to explain it to us.
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| No. XVI: “Rapporteur” In Gibraltar
Fresh
from a diplomatic mission to Botswana, where she led negotiations in
her usual fair-but-firm style, Webster had decided to take a break from
the foreign service in favor of an assignment as the Court of Ethic’s
Rapporteur in Gibraltar. She needs to think some more, to do research,
and to write. Her first several trips to the disputes isthmus gives her
a firsthand impression of how unnecessarily restricted and complicated
life has become for the Rock’s resident, tourists, and commerce as a
result of Spain’s and Britain’s longstanding dispute over the Gibraltar
sovereignty issue.
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| No. XVII: Travis Carter Reports
A
British freelance reporter living in Gibraltar writes about daily life
during the Spanish blockade, the Gibraltarians’ total dependency upon
Britain, and possible synergies between the tourism industry and the
longevity of General Franco’s fascist government.
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| No. XVIII: Rock Solid and Exposed
The
lives of Gibraltarians and the Rock’s diplomatic situation as viewed by
its governors through several generations. Lord Templeton guides the
Rock through a difficult transition towards full sovereignty, as he
prepares to hand the office to his son-in-law. Once in office, Roger
Templeton reflects upon his father-in-law’s talents and shortcoming,
which in turns becomes a trigger for his theorizing on how states often
tend to play tough and militarize in an attempt to compensate for what
they perceive to be their weaknesses.
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| No. XIX: Summits
Much
is at stake at international summits, when world leaders have finally
decided to get together. Not much is left to chance, as the career
diplomats use protocols and take every precaution to avoid any mishaps.
In spite of all efforts, things do tend to get complicated once
negotiations begin. An insider explains what a “quagmire” is and
possible ways on how to come out of it. To be successful, a number of
key factors must be satisfied: All parties must be motivated negotiate
in good faith; the negotiators must have a proper mandate and act
within it; participants must be carefully screened for trustworthiness;
infiltrators are a real possibility; some negotiations are best left to
the parties, whereas others may require intervention by an “honest
broker.”
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| No. XX: Approaches
A
wishful general public may think of diplomacy as something which can
either succeed and thus resolve a conflict, or fail and thus leave the
conflict at status quo. Such perceptions, an insider explains, are too
simplistic and may even be squarely wrong, because failed or even
slightly unsuccessful negotiations may indeed make matters even worse.
The foreign services must carefully consider the pros and cons of
intervention versus non-intervention. Furthermore, diplomacy is not an
all-or-nothing proposition but a delicate art involving grading of
response, prioritization among multiple agenda items, precise timing of
when to intervene, and sometimes even multilayered diplomacy.
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| No. XXI: Mechanisms
A
number of practical tools and theoretical concepts, some more useful
than others, have been developed to streamline the exercise of
diplomacy. An insider reflects on the importance of concentrating upon
what is practicable and sustainable, whether the future is capable of
learning from the past, and whether advanced tools such as
prognostication and The Backwards Constructive Methods are useful at
all.
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| No. XXII: Extremism
An
insider placed within the British security services makes blunt
comments on his view on political extremism, reacts to the Northern
Ireland’s peace settlement with its implied forgiving attitudes towards
the IRA, and further reflects on the multifaceted and dynamical concept
of terrorism.
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| No. XXIII: Law v. Diplomacy
A
diplomat and legal scholar tries to identify the respective roles of
law and diplomacy in resolving international conflicts, then daringly
moves on to envision a future in which law plays a far greater role in
dispute resolution and fact-finding than has been the case hitherto.
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| No. XXIV: Intergalactic Diplomacy
A
futuristic scenario with space diplomats, a centralized and deeply
impersonal government, “tradable justice,” cloning, virtual trials, and
multimedia. These are just some of the novel features used to provide
new insight and provocative angles into what is, always has been, and
probably always well be Just & Fair.
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