ABSTRACT
Timescales are very different now: deadlines are shorter, the process of bargaining has speeded up, the medium term grows ever closer and threats are swift to appear. (see 520)
Distances are shrinking, too, as networks develop, with greater openness to communications and competition through the media, professional bodies, interest groups, benevolent organisations and political movements, and States are now working together.1 This fluidity affects not only the processes, but also the actors themselves: the model of the structured and responsible State is no longer universally applicable. The climate of unpredictability and uncertainty undermines even the strongest of diplomatic traditions. (see 1706, 1821)
1996 – The rapid pace of modern life affects the practice of diplomacy as much as other forms of activity. Computer technology enables information to be obtained and transmitted and calculations made in milliseconds.
