By Barend ter Haar Thirty years ago, four different institutes in the field of international relations merged to form a new institute: Clingendael. The scope of Clingendael, both a think-tank and a diplomatic academy, working both for the Dutch and the international market, has remained very broad ever since. Clingendael ’s diplomatic academy provides training for incoming Dutch diplomats, the so-called ‘Klasje’, and for diplomats from all over the world, including the Middle East, North Africa, South-Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Iraq and Pakistan. The Clingendael Academy maintains special cooperation and partnership agreements with Indonesia and South Africa, spanning multiple generations of diplomats. The Academy furthermore provides training for officers of other ministries, personnel of the armed forces and employees of NGO’s and the private sector. Most of Clingendael ’s research fellows also work both for a Dutch and for an international audience.  On the national scene, Clingendael publishes the Strategic Monitor and actively stimulates a well-informed debate about Dutch foreign policy, by organising debates, providing comments to the Dutch media and by publishing brief comments. Special emphasis is given to the national debate about the EU, inter alia by means of the website: www.euforum.nl. On the European and international scene, the focus of Clingendael ´s research is mainly directed at energy, security, Europe, diplomacy, Asia and global governance. The results of this research can be found on www.clingendael.nl. The special interest of Clingendael in diplomacy and international negotiations is illustrated by its central role in publishing The Hague Journal of Diplomacy and in the Processes of International Negotiation (PIN) network. Among the subjects on Clingendael ‘s current agenda are the coming Nuclear Security Summit, the future of diplomacy and the reorganisation of the Dutch armed forces. Special mention deserve the Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP), a separate entity which conducts research on the international energy markets, and the Conflict Research Unit (CRU) that assists with its research the engagement of governments and NGO’s in fragile and conflict situations. The Institute furthermore publishes the only Dutch language magazine on international relations, the Internationale Spectator and houses the secretariat of the Dutch Association for International Affairs (NGIZ). Clingendael receives a subsidy from the Netherlands government, but it is academically independent. Located in an attractive park, between a Japanese garden and a classic Dutch garden, it is the ideal location for conferences and training sessions.

By Richard T. Griffiths (Associate Editor Diplomat Magazine and Professor International  Studies, LeidenUniversity). In 1990 the American political economist Joseph Nye coined the term ‘soft power’ to describe the ability of a state to attain its goals through diplomacy and persuasion rather than coercion or bribery. The European political scientists have enthusiastically embraced this concept to analyse European foreign policy and the European Union, itself, has persistently employed the concept  to describe and legitimise its approach to the rest of  the World. For the European Union (as an institution and as a collection of separate states) the operationalization of this concept has rested on several supports and we will deal with three of them: –          The preference for dialogue and diplomacy over force, –          The ‘ownership’ of a successful integration model which inspires other nations, –          The propagation of a set of values that promoted democracy and that eschews discrimination and the abuse of human rights, Over the past several months, I have spoken in three conferences dedicated to  Europe – one in Macao and in Beijing, from where I am writing this contribution. Looking at Europe, and hearing others speaking of Europe, from a distance of thousands of kilometres lends a different perspective from that gathered from reading the (academic) literature. The decision by the EU to prefer for dialogue over force would indeed be respected in Asia had it been made by choice. However, the experience of the intervention in Libya and non-intervention in Syria has made manifest two things. First, that  the EU is incapable of making a prompt and united response to crises on its doorstep and that when some countries did intervene militarily, as in the case of Libya, they were incapable of doing so without US strategic and logistical support. In fact the critical dependence on the United States calls into question the ability of  the EU to mount an independent military campaign, even if it chose to do so. The integration model, whereby countries gradually together moved through trade integration to economic  and monetary union, while pooling ever more areas of their sovereignty, has lost much of its gloss sincet the EU has lain in the grips of its currency crisis. The failure to take prompt and effective measures to solve the initial crisis and the deep divisions over longer-term policy have undermined the idea that Europeans controlled their own destiny. Meanwhile the persistence of the crisis and failure of economic recovery has led many to question Europe’s  future position in a dynamic world economy. These two factors have undeniably diminished Europe’s standing in Asia and reduced its moral authority. However, the moral high-ground claimed by Europe always looked higher in Europe that it did in Asia. Europeans may have forgiven themselves their imperial  pasts, and many Asians have forgiven them too, but  that does not mean that they have forgotten. It does not play well in Asia that those who preach democracy and human rights to foreign governments had for centuries blatantly infringed them themselves.   Since Europe’s problems are coinciding with the growing self-confidence in the region, the ‘soft power’ model is starting to lose some of its shine.

 By Marília Maciel, DiploFoundation Political disputes usually take place in multiple and simultaneous battlefields. One of them is the semantic universe: the winning narrative about a controversial fact tends to be predominant in public perceptions and in History books. Therefore, it is understandable that actors invest resources on crafting particular expressions or on making them resound in the collective conscience. In Egypt, the deposition of Mohamed Morsi triggered an ongoing debate on how to label it: was it a coup d’état or a revolution?  The importance of this question goes beyond national politics. It affects the international legitimacy of the current government and it also impacts on concrete policies, such as international aid. The White House and other governments did not take a clear stand on the issue, but if a dominant narrative emerges, they might be compelled to do it. Politicians usually focus their attention on traditional media to identify these emerging trends on public discourse. Interestingly, this time some analysts have also  http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/07/07/the_wikipedia_war_over_egypts_coup
called attention to the lively debate taking place in the backstage of Wikipedia about the title of the article “2013 Egyptian coup d’état”. The attention raised to the discussion in Wikipedia is not misplaced. The platform is currently the  HYPERLINK “http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page”
seventh most visited website worldwide. Many professionals use Wikipedia as a first source of information when they begin their researches on a given topic. In addition to that, unlike traditional media articles, which become old and fade from our memories in a few days, Wikipedia articles are easily retrievable and may have a long lasting repercussion, as they are indexed in the most popular encyclopedia of our time. The outcome of the debates in Wikipedia may have a concrete impact on public discussions, but it is still unclear to many how Wikipedia works. Three core policies establish the framework for the platform: verifiability, no original research (NOR) and neutral point of view (NPOV). The first two are deeply related. Wikipedia is not a platform to share innovative ideas or the outcome of original thought. Its articles should be a summary of the known and relevant information about a given topic, supported by verifiable sources such as books, published academic works or media news. The Neutral Point of View policy means that all opinions about a particular topic should be fairly represented. The discussion of rival opinions should contain no sympathy or bias. Some discussants in Wikipedia argued that the use of the word “coup” in the title of the article about recent events in Egypt is neutral and factual because sources, such as The Oxford English Dictionary, describe a “coup d’état” as an “illegal seizure of power from a government” and most legal analysts agree that this description matches the events that unfolded in Egypt. Other members of the Wikipedia community affirmed, that the title of the article violates NPOV because there is no predominant view on the matter. For the past few days, public opinion and media articles seem to be shifting towards the narrative of a coup and governmental  HYPERLINK “http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/19/uk-revokes-arms-export-licenses-egypt”
violence in Egypt has contributed to that. Consequently, Wikipedia editors decided to keep the current title, which mentions a coup d’état, at least for the time being. Wikipedia discussants will have no problem in finding sources to support whatever view they affiliate themselves to. Traditional media channels, for instance, have made their preferences for the word “coup” or “revolution” very clear from the start. Governments, on the other hand, have avoided taking a clear position. They know the potential political and diplomatic pitfalls of trying to pre-assess the legitimacy of a government. Moreover, the geopolitical importance of Egypt cannot be overlooked. For all that, the words used by particular governments or media channels to refer to recent political events in Egypt are important, but they do not necessarily point the way for achieving neutrality in Wikipedia. At least two conclusions can be drawn from this case. The first is that many of the issues that split opinions in society will also be controversial in platforms such as Wikipedia. However, the enforcement of clear policies like NPOV and the existence of constant peer review create incentives to produce balanced Wikipedia articles. This kind of pressure seems to be missing in traditional media. Wikipedia is, therefore, filling a gap and being increasingly regarded as a relevant source of information. The second conclusion is that, in spite of its growing importance and astonishing popularity, this platform has been practically absent in assessments of the public opinion and in strategies for public diplomacy. Paying attention and contributing to Wikipedia could be particularly  HYPERLINK “http://www.diplomacy.edu/blog/wikipedia-diplomats-tool-information-and-public-diplomacy”
relevant for diplomats, professionals who use words as key instruments to produce international reality and who always need to look at a picture from all sides. MariliaM@diplomacy.edu

By  Daniel Poot, Preferred Banker International Clients, ABN AMRO. Den Haag. The launch of something new is always very exciting. Hence, the start of the diplomatic magazine online is a wonderful idea and ABN AMRO believes this is an unique platform for diplomats to acquire relevant information and subsequently for the entire international community in The Hague and the Netherlands. This launch brings me back to the start-up of the ABN AMRO International Clients Desk in January 1992. Just after the merger between the ABN Bank and Amro Bank. This international desk was started mainly to service the embassies and the International Court of Justice. The goal was to help you find the best way to do your banking in a new and foreign environment. A lot has changed since 1992. The Hague became more and more the City of Peace and Justice. In 1993 the start of the ICTY later to be followed by other organisations like ICC , Europol,  Eurojust and many more followed. In addition, large multinationals have settled in The Hague as well like Shell, Q8, CB&I and more recently APM Terminals and Aramco. Obviously many diplomats, expats and other international employees have moved to The Hague and most of them became familiar with the international desk of ABN AMRO. On July 8^th this year ABN AMRO also launched something new. The bank started a campaign to promote all of the ABN AMRO international desks in The Netherlands. Besides our desk in The Hague, we service international clients in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and starting August 1^st, also in Eindhoven. If you are looking for advice on payments , insurances, mortgages, savings or investments, we ABN AMRO has a team of specialists who can service you. And did you know that ABN AMRO also serves international clients living abroad with a variety of products? We do service international clients worldwide. Finally, we have a full English website, English internet banking and English mobile banking. Interested? Check out our new website, go to www.abnamro.nl/expats  and you will see what we can do for you!