Diplomatic Practices in International Relations

Diplomatic practices encompass the routines, rituals and repertoires through which states and non-state actors conduct communication, negotiation and representation on the global stage. These practices range from formal treaty negotiation and high-level summitry to informal exchanges, back-channel communications and the crafting of shared norms. Over recent decades, the discipline has witnessed a turn towards analysing the micro-dynamics of diplomatic work: how diplomats draw on embodied skills, symbolic performances and material tools to build trust, signal status and advance national interests. Multilateral institutions provide structured arenas for collective rule-making, yet much of the real-time work of diplomacy unfolds in everyday practices of information sharing, briefings and drafting. The advent of digital technologies has infused traditional practices with new modalities, reshaping the loci of agency, transparency and confidentiality. Contemporary scholarship thus emphasizes both the continuity of age-old rituals—such as protocol and ceremonial—and the transformative potential of innovation in digital, visual and data-driven diplomacy. By linking empirical studies from diverse regions and fields, current research highlights how diplomatic practices sustain international cooperation, mediate power asymmetries and adapt to emergent global challenges.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have developed quantitative metrics to assess how regional groupings engage in treaty processes, offering new insights into the mechanics of state participation in multilateral governance. One investigation constructed a Treaty Participation Index based on ratification records of major United Nations treaties across four Asian sub-regions. This approach revealed significant variation in the speed and extent of adaptation to global norms, underscoring the differential capacities of East, South, Southeast and Central Asian states to leverage treaty‐making as a diplomatic tool. By combining empirical data with conceptual refinement, the work exemplifies a shift towards metric-based comparative analysis in understanding how diplomatic engagement evolves across time and space.

Diplomatic Practices in International Relations publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in diplomatic practices in international relations across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Diplomatic practice: The habitual and skillful enactment of negotiation, representation and protocol by state and non-state actors to manage international relations.

Multilateral treaty: A binding international agreement among three or more states that establishes shared rules or norms in a specific policy area.

Digital diplomacy: The use of digital technologies and platforms by diplomatic actors to communicate, negotiate and manage international relationships.

References

1. Diplomacy in the Age of AI: Challenges and Opportunities. Journal of Artificial Intelligence General science (JAIGS) ISSN 3006-4023 (2024).
2. Asia’s four regionalisms (Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and East Asia): a view from multilateral treaties of the United Nations. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2023).
3. Pathways to practice: praxiography and international politics. European Political Science Review (2013).
4. Practice Approaches to the Digital Transformations of Diplomacy: Toward a New Research Agenda. International Studies Review (2021).
5. Taking trust online: Digitalisation and the practice of information sharing in diplomatic negotiations. Review of International Studies (2022).
6. Transforming practices of diplomacy: the European External Action Service and digital disinformation. International Affairs (2021).