ABSTRACT
Techniques of diplomatic secrecy are so varied and adaptable that they lend themselves to just about every imaginable condition, from full-scale war to peaceful relations. What largely determines the entry point or timing for a back channel initiative is the crisis nature of a particular situation. Tacit bargaining and secret negotiation have many other advantages. Several of these come under the heading of opportunity. Unilateral secrecy, such as in conducting secret nuclear tests or in activating a spy ring, was excluded in the earlier definition of quiet diplomacy. Quiet diplomacy, to be sure, can be handled with extreme discretion and total secrecy that no traces are left behind either for contemporary adversaries or future diplomatic historians. From the start of a secret diplomatic process to its culmination there is one iron rule: preserve confidentiality of the proceedings. At the bureaucratic level, therefore, secretive diplomacy also carries the risk of administrative confusion and inconsistency.
