Diplomacy

The current turbulent international arena, especially when it comes to the relations between great global powers calls for a new generation of well-educated professionals dealing with foreign policy matters. The alternative is a state of conflict instead of cooperation and ignorance instead of mutual understanding. Lazarski University wishes to engage in the task of preparing young specialists, who would help make global politics safer and more predictable. That is why the University proposes a new diplomatic specialty within the general IR MA course. The Diplomacy Specialty’s aim is to prepare candidates for specific tasks related to the practice of foreign relations such as working with various foreign services and foreign policy analytical centres. The specialty is centred around four elective courses. They focus on diplomatic protocol, history of diplomacy, digital diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, economic diplomacy, advanced negotiation skills, relations between great powers (mainly US, China, Russia and Germany).

The faculty teaching the electives are experienced academics as well as professional diplomats and think-tankers. Students will also obtain assistance in finding practices in foreign embassies, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in think-tanks dealing with international relations. Upon successful completion of the specialty, students will acquire the following qualities and capabilities:

• Advanced skills necessary to become an effective negotiator and gather sensitive information.
• Knowledge of the diplomatic craft and the specialized rules of conduct in the diplomatic context (protocol).
• Highly developed understanding of how history determines the past, present and future of diplomatic relations.
• Specialized knowledge of tensions between USA, Russia, China and Germany.
• Advanced diplomatic skills in the field of economy.
• Ability to take advantage of one’s country culture and soft power in the diplomatic context.
• Ability to pursue diplomatic objectives in the cyberspace.

Specifically, the graduate will demonstrate the following qualities, skills, capabilities and values:

1. Intellectual
   • Advanced knowledge of history of diplomacy, international economics and foreign policies of major global players.
   • Solving complex diplomatic problems combined with the ability to use proper negotiation tools and techniques.
   • Ability to offer specialized analysis of the diplomatic context.
   • Advanced ability to make foreign policy forecasts.
2. Practical
   • Negotiations, communication, presentation, interaction skills at an advanced level.
   • Advanced knowledge of the diplomatic protocol.
   • The ability to lead a task-oriented team and help it achieve diplomatic goals.
   • Well-developed mediating skills.
3. Personal and Social
   • Advanced managing of time and resources in the foreign service profession.
   • Building the brand of one’s country and using the media for that purpose.
   • Ability to manage complex tasks in a difficult or hostile environment.
   • Finding creative solutions to complicated foreign policy problems.

Graduates

MAs in International Relations – Diplomatic Specialty will be highly-skilled specialists well-trained in modern foreign policy issues and acquire a great degree of unique diplomatic skills. They will specifically:

• be prepared to work as policy makers, planners or analysts, particularly in foreign service— especially in the diplomatic and consular corps—and in international non-governmental organisations (INGOs); as global and EU marketers and consultants in multinational business organisations; or as international journalists in the media, including the new (Internet-based) media;
• learn advanced negotiating skills, acquire the knowledge of diplomatic protocol and various practices of the diplomatic profession;
• know how to work analyse different information and generate them,
• be able to navigate complex political, military, cultural and economic issues from governmental as well as business and NGO perspectives.

Electives

To be eligible for the Diplomatic Specialty, the student must complete at least three out of four electives.

Diplomatic Protocol and History of Diplomacy
The course’s aim is to enable the students to acquire expert knowledge in the field of etiquette, traditions and history of diplomacy. It will focus on well known Western examples, as well as less obvious cases, including the diplomatic history of Turkey, Russia and the Middle East. A protocol and history course is an absolutely necessary elective for any student, who on graduating wishes to pursue a serious career in any foreign service.

Public, Economic and Digital Diplomacy
This course is about the most recent and non-orthodox weapons in the arsenal of any diplomat. How to capitalize on one’s country cultural assets? How to increase the state’s soft-power and use it as a leverage in hard-power games? How to use diplomatic tools in cyberspace in a effective and safe manner? How to translate good diplomatic relations into good business or how to keep economic relations active even when the politics is dysfunctional? Those are all vital questions that a modern practitioner of the diplomatic craft needs to learn how to answer. This course will help the student do that.

Negotiation Strategies
Advanced diplomatic tasks are first and foremost negotiation tasks. In order to be able to cope with them an aspiring diplomat has to learn specific strategies: ways of reaching a compromise, applying pressure or breaking talks in a tactful way, which does not preclude future dialogue. To acquire those skills the students need to master the basics of game theory, the behavioural- psychological approach to negotiations and undergo a number of tutorials.

Great Power Politics
Rather than in a global village, we live in the era of a new great power struggle. Russian revisionism coupled with Chinese global ambitions clash with the US.-led West. At the same time the world is obviously not as bipolar as it was during the cold-war. New players like Inda or Brazil start exploring their options swinging between the Chinese-authoritarian camp and the Western democracies. Moreover, the western camp itself is not a paragon of unity. The course will walk the student through the main global fault lines, which currently affect all diplomatic activities.