By Joanne T Brooks, Chargé d’affaires, Embassy of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Brussels (accredited to the Benelux countries, the EU, the OPCW, the ACP, Spain, France, Switzerland and the Holy See)
In today’s fast changing globalised world small states face significant challenges in order to achieve their foreign policy objectives. Small states generally lack the visibility in the foreign public and struggle to put themselves on the radar of international attention. Like medium size and large states, they must also overcome a plethora of issues, many of which are multidimensional and exogenous, and beyond the capacity of any one state to overcome on its own. As a result the practice of modern diplomacy by small states must be innovative, active and strategic.
Embassies of small states must overcome challenges relating to human and financial resource capacity, multiple accreditations both bilateral and multilateral in nature, as well as immigration, consular and diaspora engagement on a daily basis. In order to be successful, small states must therefore take a strategic approach to selective engagement. In this regard, they must prioritise those issues inextricably linked with domestic policy and developmental goals, for example issues relating to trade, investment, security and climate change.
For example, Trinidad and Tobago quickly responded to the internationalisation of the work of specialised/expert Ministries by installing International Relations Divisions in key Ministries with sectors relating to trade, international cooperation and global governance. Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains central to foreign policy formulation, coordination and information dissemination, collaboration between key Ministries enable small states to deal with issues in a more holistic which combines policy and technical expertise.
Small States must also project their voices and values in the global arena through support for multilateral institutions and regional organisations. An example of this is the important role Trinidad and Tobago played in the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) through one of the organisation’s founding fathers H.E. Arthur Robinson, former Prime Minister and later President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. As a testament to his contribution to the establishment of the ICC, the main courtroom is named in his honour.
More recently, Trinidad and Tobago also played a significant role in the establishment of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a multilateral Treaty that regulates the international trade in conventional weapons. Participation in regional and international fora also provides opportunities to build alliances around thematic priority issues, as recently seen at the annual conference of parties (COP) 21 in Paris, where small states and their global partners created new norms of a legally binding global agreement on climate and proposals for adaptation and mitigation.
New forms of engagement such as public diplomacy are modern tools in the arsenal of small states. Country branding, which is the cornerstone of public diplomacy could be effectively used in furtherance of foreign policy goals. Malta, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Norway are all examples where effective niche branding has been used to influence international public opinion and allow the country to punch above the weight of their relative small size.
The shrinkage of space and the onset of a multitude of social media portals, together with the rapid speed with which news is transmitted and events unfold, have also created a space for virtual diplomacy to permeate the world of diplomatic relations. Using social media, small states are able to communicate with active civil society and Diaspora communities in countries where there is no formal representation. Information dissemination has become not only easier but takes place at a rapid speed. This reality levels the playing field and allows small states to respond to global issues with the same alacrity as medium and large states.
In this regard states can no longer afford chose their officers in the traditional way, but instead must seek to employ candidates with various skills sets including those from the private sector and civil society organisations. It is instructive that many senior diplomats easily transition into the private sector at some stage in their careers but inflows from the private sector into the diplomatic corps are still rare. It may be timely for recruitment practices to be adjusted in order to capture not only those candidates steeped in academic theory but those who possess the skill set needed for the modern diplomat. Communication has and will always be the cornerstone of diplomacy both written and verbal. However, the modern diplomat must also possess networking skills, take a creative approach to problem solving, and be able to strategically network, lobby, influence and negotiate. For small states active, multi faceted engagement is the key.
There is no doubt that the current international environment has presented many challenges for small states as they seek a broader understanding of the specificities of the obstacles they encounter. However, in a globalised, multipolar, interconnected world there are also unique opportunities based on evolving modern diplomatic practices where the challenge of small size can be overcome in order to achieve a more effective diplomatic engagement.
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Photography by Curtis Chase.
