ABSTRACT
The parameters of traditional diplomacy were defined by geography. A diplomat gathered information in one geographic place—namely the host country—that would not have been available in another place—namely the home country of the diplomat. Diplomats used to represent states with a mostly homogenous population. They used to watch over the interests of an economy that still was autonomous to a large extent. Diplomats stood for, and represented a culture that saw itself as unique and distinct from others. Diplomats used to represent distinct places on the globe that had an equally distinct political, cultural, and economic identity. This reference for, central to their activity has become blurred. States still matter in global affairs. Diplomats are their tools still. The gap is still widening between this new reality of delocalization and the way we think about international/global relations, about security policies and about the tasks of diplomacy.
