ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IN CLIMATE DIPLOMACY

The European Union’s (EU) climate diplomacy has changed dramatically since the early 2010s. Previously relying on a ‘leadership-by-example’ approach primarily concerned with the external projection of its domestic policies, the EU profoundly adapted its climate diplomacy strategy between the 2009 Copenhagen COP 15 and the 2015 Paris COP 21. This reimagined strategy was further solidified in the aftermath of the Paris Climate Conference. The EU’s redesigned climate diplomacy focuses on stronger – cooperative and adversarial – bilateral relations with significant emitters and greater flexibility in its positions and actions. (“The European Union’s Strategic Turn in Climate Diplomacy …”)

It is a widely held and, at first glance, plausible belief that the European Union (EU) is the world leader in combating dangerous global climate change. Since the early 1990s, the EU has committed to unilateral and relatively high reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the EU has ensured the implementation of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding international framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This aspires to demonstrate leadership in developing a new global agreement after 2012.

The European Union’s Influence on Copenhagen Policy

Europe is forming its post-Copenhagen policy, with a strong emphasis on engaging third countries and adopting a more “realistic” approach to climate diplomacy. However, fundamental differences exist between and within European countries on key issues such as the transition to a 30% EU emissions reduction target, the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the significance of a binding UN treaty, the appropriate mix of conditionality and incentives, and the role – if any – of border adjustment measures. (“European Climate Diplomacy after Copenhagen – E3G”). These policy differences stem from fundamental disagreements about strategic goals and perceptions of international politics. The EU will be unable to deploy the total weight of Community and Member State resources to support its collective interests unless new processes for closer strategic alignment are implemented. Closer alignment is built on three critical pillars: improved collective political intelligence, a clearer medium-term strategy for meeting the 2c goal, and stronger strategic conversations on climate change among senior European politicians and officials, including foreign ministries.

However, a few new perspectives emerged in the post-Copenhagen context, emphasising the EU’s alleged role as a ‘leadiator,’ a ‘leader-cum-mediator,’ and paying some attention to its bilateral relations with emerging economies. However, the multipolar dynamics of the Paris Agreement negotiations and implementation necessitate a thorough rethinking of scholarly analyses of the EU’s climate diplomacy. Importantly, these must include a Foreign Policy Analysis perspective beyond the alleged default multilateral preference.

Europe must handle four significant areas of Climate Diplomacy.

The EU appears to be as well prepared as other major powers to navigate these new waters. Still, it will need to be more adept at climate diplomacy than the “low ambition coalition” to achieve its ambitious, positive agenda.

The four primary areas of climate diplomacy which Europe must address include:

  • Strategy: How Europe defines and integrates its overall climate change goals with its broader strategic interests.
  • Political engagement with third countries: How Europe perceives and influences climate change discussions in other parts of the world.
  • Policy towards the international climate regime: How Europe creates effective international climate change cooperation mechanisms within and outside the UNFCCC.
  • Practical climate cooperation with third countries: How Europe organises itself to provide practical support for low-carbon, climate-resilient development worldwide.

European Green Deal Diplomacy

Rebuilding Europe’s climate diplomacy strategy must begin with an open discussion of European interests, which may necessitate internal realignment of those interests. Maintaining momentum will require the enthusiastic participation of new stakeholders in the internal European debate, including the national security community. Europe needs a more intelligent political strategy, backed up by new diplomatic machinery, to influence other countries and win their support for its policy positions. European countries should continue to share lessons learned on best practices in this area through the new European External Action Service, the Green Diplomacy Network, and other channels.

Green Deal Diplomacy

One of the novel aspects of the new European Commission’s proposal for a European Green Deal (EGD) is the establishment of a “Green Deal Diplomacy.” While this ambition has yet to be realised, the proposed new diplomacy does not emerge from a vacuum. The EU has been developing explicit climate and energy diplomacies since 2011 and 2015. As a result, it will be critical for EGD diplomacy to learn from previous attempts to formulate and implement EU external ambitions in policy areas related to the European Green Deal, both successes and failures. The purpose for the EU to be a “global leader” by paralleling internal ambitious transition efforts with a “stronger ‘green deal diplomacy’ focused on convincing and supporting others to take on their share of promoting more sustainable development has received comparatively less attention.

For climate diplomacy, regular and extensive conclusions on spreading ambitious climate action to various actors, emphasising instruments and policy synergies (e.g., energy, human rights, trade, security, development) have provided a relatively straightforward framework of external engagement. The goals of energy diplomacy are less clear, with actions primarily aimed at improving internal coordination among Member States and EU institutions and expanding on existing energy partnership/dialogue formats. As a result, transparent decisions on which concrete policy-area specific objectives and external instruments will be included in EGD diplomacy will be required to develop into a meaningful, comprehensive outreach strategy rather than a paper tiger of stated ambitions for various areas of external engagement.

Conclusion.

When the EU redesigned its external climate strategy, it changed how it chose its main interlocutors and interacted with them in practice. The Union has shifted away from a singular focus on the multilateral arena and leadership-by-example to what is known as ‘multiple bilateralisms’ (MB), which is defined as a foreign policy “strategy that entails the maintenance of several bilateral relationships in parallel as a subset of a multilateral negotiation setting.” With this shift, the EU abandoned its efforts to create a global climate regime that mirrored its regional and adopted a more pragmatic approach, acknowledging that it is part of a broader and malleable global context in which the – cooperative and confrontational – relations between major emitters shape multilateral climate policies decisively. The key features of the redesigned EU climate diplomacy are greater flexibility and more significant investment in the EU’s multiple bilateral relationships with other major emitters in parallel with the ongoing UN climate regime negotiations.

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Writer by Eric Muhia, International Studies and Diplomacy Graduate Student

13 April 2022, Kenya

Photo by Frederic Köberl

Category: Diplomacy

Reference: EM13042022D   

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CONFERENCE DIPLOMACY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

“Conference diplomacy has its antecedents in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 4th-century bc when the Greek city-states and Persia convened eight international political congresses, established a mutually guaranteed territorial status quo, and agreed on rules of conduct for regulating international affairs.”

What is Conference Diplomacy?

Conference diplomacy is the management of relations between governments and intergovernmental organisations that takes place at international conferences. This definition encompasses relations between governments and relationships between governments and the organisations to which they belong. This latter type of relationship has brought new elements to diplomacy. The term “conference” is used broadly, preventing the old distinction between a conference and a congress. The latter refers to gatherings attended by sovereigns or their principal ministers.

It is about resolving differences through an interconnected set of compromises and trade-offs in which no party gains everything, but all parties gain something and concede something.

Actors in Conference Diplomacy.

In most intergovernmental conferences, four main actors can be detected:

  • the delegations, as representatives of their governments.
  • the secretariat and its executive head.
  • the presiding officer(s).
  • various groups of governments, often acting through a single delegation appointed by the group.

Sometimes others become involved in conference diplomacy:

  • non-governmental organisations.
  • formal mediators, appointed by the parties in the dispute, by the UN Secretary-General, by the UN Security Council, or somehow.
  • informal facilitators- a recent example is former US president Carter, with his interventions in North Korea, Haiti, and former Yugoslavia

Rise of Negotiations in Conference Diplomacy.

Westphalia, especially the Münster agreement, can be seen as a network of interconnected bilateral negotiations. It thus had a multilateral connotation, though not in the modern sense. As a result, this study proposes the term multi-bilateral negotiation because the meetings resembled a conference and resulted in numerous informal contacts between delegations that were not involved in formal negotiations. It is worth noting that this transverse or transliteral negotiation, along with regular longitudinal negotiation, is common in today’s conference diplomacy. In fact, the more participants there are and the more complicated and numerous the issues, the more transliteral negotiations are required inside and outside the conference rooms to keep the process moving. While the procedures and methods of the Westphalia negotiations favoured the larger countries, the smaller parties considered themselves fortunate to have been invited. Without the massive gathering, they would have been left much more out in the cold, which is why small countries prefer multilateral meetings. In contrast, their larger ‘brothers’ often prefer bilateral meetings currently. Westphalia can be seen as a bridge between old-fashioned bilateral interaction and twenty-first-century conference diplomacy in terms of procedure and process.

The United Nations and Conference Diplomacy

Diplomacy today faces the challenges of modern phenomena such as increased public attention and involvement, new modes of communication, and an increase in the number of international state and non-state actors, all of which are required to formulate foreign policy. From air traffic to the internet, modern communication technologies have allowed top diplomats, politicians, and heads of government and state to communicate personally and directly.

Conference Diplomacy (Kaufmann, 1996) by Johan Kaufmann assists practitioners in dealing with the procedures of institutionalised conferences, particularly in the context of the United Nations. Today’s United Nations has unrivalled convening and mobilising power, which has been used to organise many global conferences on various topics ranging from women to human rights, population to social development, and economic development to environmental conservation. Typically, the panels have included all global governance actors—states, civil society organisations, and, to a lesser extent, private sector firms. Whereas intergovernmental conferences are essential for the development of treaty law, global discussions are critical to the evolution of norms and ‘soft law,’ which begins to exert a binding effect in customary international law. According to two UN scholars, these conferences are “important for articulating new international norms, expanding international law, creating new structures, setting agendas… and promoting linkages among the UN, the specialised agencies, NGOs, and governments.” Any major global conference is accompanied by extensive diplomatic activity, which can last several years. Countries try to identify like-minded and thus likely coalition partners, harmonise strategies to advance their own and defeat competing interests and efforts, mobilise NGO support or blunt NGO dissent, etc.

Did you know?

A conference diplomat can jeopardise himself if he makes deliberate misrepresentations or avoidable errors, which are likely to be discovered sooner or later by his fellow delegates. Another delegate may confront him about his mistake in a speech, or he may be approached informally. In both cases, he will be questioned about the integrity of what he said. As a result, the conference diplomat will ensure that the facts he mentions in official sessions, informal speeches, or private conversations can be supported. On the other hand, the problem is that ‘truth’ is not always a singular entity. Truth can mean one thing to one person and something else to another when it comes to policy.

Conclusion

Modern conference diplomacy is one result that uses an ancient diplomatic strategy for avoiding conflict for as long as possible—ideally until a solution is found.

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Writer by Eric Muhia, International Studies and Diplomacy Graduate Student

Category: Diplomacy

06 April 2022, Kenya

Reference: EM06042022D  

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HANDLING CONFLICTS

Conflicts are inevitable. As long as humans walk the face of the earth, there will be confrontations. From issues as minor as scheduling two appointments simultaneously on your planner to disputes between family members and co-workers or political disagreements within the government, everyone will deal with conflicts on some level and in some manner.

For the most part, no one wants to enter into a personal conflict or disagreement intentionally. Conflicts can cause quite a stir of raw emotions and defences. If not handled correctly, it can cause many misunderstandings, severed relationships, financial hardships, unexpected reactions, or other issues and problems.

One of the best protocols for handling conflict is to avoid conflicting issues before they arise. However, that is not always an option.

When handling conflict, consider these guidelines:

Promptly – When an unavoidable issue arises, address it promptly or as quickly as possibly allowed to avoid the situation from escalating more. Don’t allow conflict to ferment. Many unpleasant problems can be resolved more civilly if just addressed promptly. Accidents, mistakes and slip-ups happen. Try to make corrections to mend the situation and move forward when they do.

Professional – Handle conflicts professionally. Something may have gone awry and not the way planned initially; however, don’t break the protocol of being professional. Think of reasonable, agreeable solutions to rectify the error.  

Private – When a negative situation does occur (and once again, they will), if at all possible, try to resolve the problem in private with all the parties involved. Who does the conflict affect? If the matter only concerns one other person or a small group of people, keep the case with them only.

It is crucial to remember to handle the issue in private only if it can be done in a safe environment and without causing any further harm to someone else or something else.  

Public – If your conflict was public, it might be necessary to handle the resolution publicly. This may even involve public apologies or corrections. If so, take it with no dramatics and as professionally as possible. 

“Make wise choices. Every choice you make has a consequence.”

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Writer by Renita Jackson, Etiquette Specialist 

06 April 2022, U.S.A  

Category: Etiquette 

Reference: RJ06042022BE    

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25 March SME INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NETWORKING MEETING

25 March 2022

 

WE ARE YOUR GATEWAY TO THE WORLD! 

The objective is to enable SME’s to do business with partners from all over the world. 

 

We have had a very successful meeting in which some of the companies will continue to be in contact for mutual collaboration. Thank you for sharing your experiences and the challenges involved in doing business internationally.

Thank you!

See you on 29 April to Meet Match and Do Business!

Companies and countries:

SLP Interancional Ltd international, United Kigdom

Galve Internacional, The Netherlands

ReGen Villages Holding BV, The Netherlands

NKJ Strategic Solutions, South Africa

Leos Trumps, India

Auersmont School of Etiquette, Australia

ProtocolToday Consulting and Academy, The Netherlands

New Economy Strategies, The Netherlands.

See you on 29 April to Meet Match and Do Business!

                                                        Free participation

Registration SME 29 April

SOFT POWER DIPLOMACY

Japan’s soft diplomacy phenomenon is portrayed through “Pop Culture Diplomacy.” The Japanese government’s program uses anime (animated cartoons) and manga (a comic style) to achieve a foreign policy goal. The use of pop culture as a diplomatic strategy stands in appealing, warm, and humane opposition to the threat of military power. While reliance on pop culture as a means of soft diplomacy and nation branding has significant potential for international relations, nations must be cautious in developing these practices. Recent initiatives in Japan, Britain, Turkey and the United States reveal the possible benefits and pitfalls of soft diplomacy and nation branding through popular culture.

Soft Power

Joseph Nye Jr, a political scientist during the 1980s, defined soft power as a country’s ability to influence others without resorting to coercive pressure. When put into practice, it entails a process where countries project their values, ideals, and culture across borders to foster goodwill and strengthen partnerships. The concept of soft power was first used in 1990 by the American Political Scientist Joseph Nye. In his article, Nye focuses on how America will rebuild the hegemonic power of the unipolar world after the Cold War. The debate has been shaped around ‘how power has changed in international relations. Countries must constantly renew themselves in the global competition.

Countries have developed tools and strategies to help them outperform their competitors in global competition. The country’s soft powers and brand are the most important tools. Positive images of the countries attract investment, tourism, and security. The country brand has evolved into an essential soft power tool in this context. The countries’ brand values and soft powers directly impact one another. Countries with a high brand value also have effective soft power. A country’s soft power is primarily based on three factors: its culture (in places where it is appealing to others), its political values (when they are upheld at home and abroad), and its foreign policies (when they are seen as legitimate and having moral authority.)

Soft Power Diplomacy

Soft diplomacy is one of those words with a hazy definition that you recognise when you see it. Typically, it refers to attempts to engage directly with the public in indirect ways; it’s diplomacy’s soft power equivalent in that the goal isn’t so much to accomplish a specific substantive task as it is to try and change the fundamental basis on which a diplomatic relationship exists between countries. In and of itself, diplomacy evolves from the IR theory of Liberalism, which promotes cooperation among state actors for the peaceful resolution of conflicting issues in a win-win situation. As a big fan of Joseph Nye’s work on liberalism and soft power, I can say that soft diplomacy is based on the same idea.

Soft diplomacy is a process of mutual empowerment in which no direct goal-oriented action is taken, but efforts are channelled indirectly to achieve the goal. There is some debate about whether the affected state actors will directly participate. I believe that state actors are involved in some cases, and some indirect state actors engage in soft diplomacy.

European Union Soft Power Diplomacy

The EU is a leading intergovernmental organisation, and its success inspires non-member states to join the European integration project. The EU’s “soft power” stems from its willingness to offer a seat at the decision-making table, built on this promising foundation. This attractiveness ensures peace and security among European states, and the EU enlargement process strengthens the EU’s position on a global scale. As a result, the EU’s soft power benefits its member countries and the EU itself. This attractiveness ensures peace and security among European states, and the EU enlargement process strengthens the EU’s position on a global scale. Thus, the EU’s soft power benefits both its member countries and the EU itself. Soft power is being used by rising powers such as Russia, China, and India. Soft power and public diplomacy are lacking in developing countries.

Examples of Soft Power Diplomacy:

Korea

From the Gangnam style dance moves to the crazed fans of Korean pop groups like BTS, Twice, Black Pink, and the Oscar-winning film Parasite, as well as a large following of soft romance in Korean dramas. Korea is the new entertainment industry leader, in addition to establishing a foothold in the cosmetics and fashion industries, which have taken the world by storm.

India

India’s long history, culture, and civilisation is the most significant factor. These have drawn intellectuals and ordinary people from all over the world to India. So many brilliant minds from all over the world would not be working as Indologists if they were not attractive. Being in a strategic location and a global powerhouse of Asia, India also exercises soft power diplomacy through its vast diaspora, IT and pharmaceutical industries, and a foreign policy that values its neighbours.

China

China is one of the most powerful nations in terms of soft power diplomacy, from a global economic powerhouse to a centre of rich culture and traditions. China is a land that has it all, including our favourite Pandas, who are one of the key Chinese soft power diplomacy instruments.

Germany

Germany wields considerable influence and soft power in public policy, foreign relations, and international affairs. (Not afraid to criticise Russia or even support Iran for the JCPOA.) Germany is also a major contributor to global donations to international organisations and the most influential advocate for environmental protection, conservation, and sustainable development.

Conclusion

Soft Power is about winning people’s hearts and minds at its most basic. As a result, a people-centred approach is required. Governments cannot do much more than facilitating the process in this regard. Even if the concept of Soft Power is imprecise, Joseph Nye did well to highlight this important aspect of countries’ foreign policies. There is no country today that does not value this factor. Academics and intellectuals can be crucial in this endeavour.

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Writer by Eric Muhia, International Studies and Diplomacy Graduate Student.

21 March 2022, Kenya

Category: Diplomacy

Reference: EM210322D    

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MASTERCLASSES FOR DIPLOMATS & EXECUTIVES WORKING IN THE NETHERLANDS (MGO-21-F)

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Business Etiquette in The Netherlands

Key topics:

  • Dutch soberness: “Doe Normaal”;

  • Business communication in The Netherlands;

  • Business card Protocol and etiquette

  • Practices: punctuality and introductions;

  • Relations management: body language, handshake and networking.

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Insights in Dutch Economic & Business Structure and Framework

Key topics:

  • Geo-economic structure of The Netherlands;
  • The Dutch innovation framework;
  • Top-sector policy;
  • Governmental and private organisations active in entrepreneurship and international business;
  • Funding and financing tools.

Target audience:

  • Ambassadors, Diplomats, Honorary consuls;

  • Government officials, PR staff, protocol officers, board members;

  • Employees/managers of NGO’s and international organisations;

  • Business executives & Entrepreneurs. Key topics.

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DIGITAL DIPLOMACY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Digital diplomacy has become a new and increasingly popular strategy aiming to broaden access to the United Kingdom cultural context and make it more accessible to people worldwide in this age of information society. (Grincheva, 2012)The British Council is the central diplomatic organisation in the UK and the second biggest charity organisation globally, whose aim objective is to develop international cultural and educational relations with different countries worldwide while maintaining a non-governmental status. According to the Royal Charter, The British Council’s purpose is to widen the exposure and knowledge of the English language and promote a broader global understanding of the UK. British Council programs include building intercultural dialogue through digital media tools because digital media is one of the key tools used by the British Council to expand its outreach across the globe.

The UK is among the few countries that take digital diplomacy and policy very seriously, especially in its creative industry and cultural sectors. The UK is aware of the importance of digital potential in enhancing and preserving its national cultural heritage. The UK government established an institution called the National Archives of the UK, which preserves the heritage of the UK in a digital form to make it more accessible for people all over the world online. The National archives, which serve England, Wales and the UK, hold up to 1000 years of national records and up to until October 2011; The National Archives had a sub-body called the Museums Libraries and Archives Council and this partnership aimed at empowering national museums and libraries providing experience through connecting them to national cultural heritage. The British Council employs the full potential of new media like the internet to promote the richness of the arts and British culture. The museum galleries have been applying digital technologies to reach new audiences. A lot of online programs and websites have been developed by the British Council to provide access to creative and cultural products of the UK on a global scale.

Digital diplomacy in the UK aims to showcase the UK’s cultural, national superiority and excellence to wider audiences. The British Council uses diplomacy in promoting its innovative practices, like building more democratic and inclusive societies around the world. The UK applies digital media to support English language learning and mastery through online interactive resources like learning English websites used by over 2 million teachers and students worldwide, providing unlimited materials necessary for effective English language learning, practising and examination.

The United Kingdom’s national ambition is to ensure that it’s one of the world’s leading digital knowledge economies employing digital technologies in economic initiatives. The digital diplomacy group was established in the UK to make sure the foreign and commonwealth office in the UK is a world authority on the theory and practice of digital diplomacy.

In conclusion, digital diplomacy has become a platform for attention generation by diplomats. Diplomats, just like almost everyone else, are competing for attention. This has led to attempts by some diplomats to use jokes or entertaining posts to make statements and trends online. An example is a post made by the Joint Delegation of Canada at NATO in 2014, which through a satirical post accompanied by a regional map, critiqued Russian actions in Crimea. The post generated attention in the diplomatic world about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Wanless, 2014)

References

Grincheva, N. (2012). Digital Diplomacy. International Policy Frame transformation in Diplomatic Discourse.

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03 March 2022, Kenya

Category: Diplomacy

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EXCELLENCIES AND EXECUTIVES DINNER THE HAGUE

Date: 31 Mei 2022

Time: 16:00–21:30hrs (The Netherlands) Venue: WTC The Hague, Netherlands 

The investment to join this event is € 250 (plus 21% BTW), the cocktail and the 3-courses dinner, premium wines and soft drinks included.

Dress code: Business Attire.

Limited capacity!

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Are you interested in sponsoring this International Diner? Please get in touch with us: contact@protocoltoday.nl

IDBA and ProtocolToday in The Netherlands organize this event.

SME Entrepreneurship Future Thinking  

Excellencies and Executives Dinner

“boost the cooperation among nations and societies around the world”.

Following the successful Excellences & Entrepreneurs Dinner, SME Entrepreneurship Future Thinking, on 04 June 2019, we invite you to participate in the upcoming Excellences & Entrepreneurs Business Dinner in WTC The Hague, on 31 Mei 2022.

This event was attended by H.E. Ms Sigrid Kaag, Dutch Minister of International Trade and Development Cooperation, together with 45 Ambassadors and 280 entrepreneurs from 88 countries. The event resulted in many direct business partnerships between entrepreneurs.

On 31 Mei will be 20 country tables, each headed by an Ambassador. The present Ambassadors will be from Europe, America, Africa and Asian countries. The (pre-selected) entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to select with which two Ambassadors you would like to dine and discuss business opportunities in the Ambassador’s country. Another purpose of the evening is to enable entrepreneurs to know each other, share experiences of doing business in your country and learn from each other.

PROGRAM

18:30 – 19:00: Reception with 20 Ambassadors and 140 entrepreneurs;

19.00 – 19.20: Global transformations & Post Covid opportunities by Dr Dewanand Mahadew;

19:20 – 19.35: Speech by a Minister or Mayor (to be confirmed);

19.35 – 20.15: Dinner and interactions between Ambassadors & the entrepreneurs around the table; 

20.15 – 21.00: The entrepreneurs will shift to the second table of their choice, and other entrepreneurs will join the Ambassador’s table;

21.00 – 21.15: Conclusions & follow up remarks.

SPEAKERS: 

Prof. Dr. Dewanand Mahadew

Managing director of NewEconomyStrategies

Theme:

He is an international expert with business development experience in more than 60 countries. He is the managing director of NewEconomyStrategies, Dean of International Business Development Academy, and Professor in International Business and Strategic Management at UBIS University in Geneva. He has master’s degrees in process engineering, industrial management, marketing, business management, and a DBA degree in strategic management.

The Netherlands

Rob van Nes

Interim general management at international operating enterprises.

Theme:

Rob is an internationally oriented strategist specialised in value proposition (re)design, market entry strategies and route-to-market strategies.

He was a Marketing Director for a market leader British multinational and Managing Director of a global operating Dutch product developing company.

The Netherlands

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PARTICIPANTS ARE:

  • Government Representatives: Ambassadors, 
  • Business Professionals: Entrepreneurs, Consultants, Business Development Professionals;
  • Executives & Professionals: National & Local Government’s Officials, City Marketing & Investments Promotion Executives 
  • Executives of internationally operating companies.
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CHALLENGES OF PROTOCOL IN THE XXI CENTURY (I)

As we have discussed in previous articles, Protocol in the XXI Century and Origen of the Protocol, Protocol is a complex and transversal discipline with some challenges to face in the XXI century. The scientific research consulted has given us five challenges as a result. This will be the first article in a series of five where we will talk about all of them.

FIRST CHALLENGE: LACK OF KNOWLEDGE

The first challenge revolves around the general lack of knowledge about protocol, not only for the general public but also for digital and traditional media. If you are working in this profession, you know what I mean. If we went out on the street and asked the first ten people, we found that their answers would probably be between cutlery placement and royal issues if they knew what protocol is.

But we are by no means the first affirming this fact. Other professionals have said before that general society does not know what protocol is. It has been associated with unnecessary expenses, meals, etc. (Fuente Lafuente, 2013, p. 4). Words that have evoked other recent media articles –traditional and digital– denounce cases of politicians accused of spending excess money and associate this expense with protocol.

But let´s imagine for a moment that somebody would like to go deeper into the internet on the subject. What would happen?

Recently, there has been an explosion of protocol content online, either on websites or in blogs, video blogs… Anybody who would like to learn about our profession could quickly go online and do research. So, the question would be, what are they going to find?

María Gómez Requejo, project partner in Protocol Bloggers Point (PBP), a space dedicated to collecting all blogs in different languages that exist whose theme is protocol, wrote an article where she analysed this webspace. Her conclusions were as follows:

  • 7,6% of the blogs collected in this space can be considered made by researchers from the protocol world.
  • The profile of the bloggers is divided into 15,8% amateurs and 84,2% professionals from all areas of the protocol/event sector.
  • Only a tiny percentage of professionals are researchers, therefore dealing with the subject from a scientific perspective.
  • The content is not only written in Spanish but also in English. There are bloggers from 11 different countries.
  • The specific topics of the blogs are eight, but the ones that collect most of the cases are four: communication, events, protocol and ceremonial, and personal image and etiquette.

After that, the author focuses on the publications around protocol with a scientific character. There is one in operation in this area, the Revista de Estudios Institucionales, edited by the UNED (in Spanish), and the magazine Compé published its last copy in 2014.

The second part of this great misunderstanding about protocol comes from the media. Both traditional and digital.

Carlos Fuente makes the first approach to the phenomenon of the protocol in media. In his opinion, there is a tendency to identify protocol and its official events with the royal environment. This has a direct consequence, which is none other than calling it strict and tight. Outside the official sphere, it fits in the good manners and how to behave. (Fuente Lafuente, 2013b, p. 170).

This vision generally conveyed by the media has a clear consequence: the social distortion of the concept. The general public learns from the media that discipline consists basically of parties, unnecessary montages, etiquette and other frivolities. Therefore, society and media relate protocol with extra expenses.

Regarding the media, we find a recent study where this aspect is analysed in digitised media –press, radio and TV– from 1979 to 2016 (De la Serna Ramos, 2017).

One of the things that research shows from the beginning is that learning what protocol is from media is impossible. And that with the emergence of digital media and social networks, the situation has nothing but worsened. The association of the term protocol is linked to subjects like clothing or social education only. The impression is that the media is not interested in whether the user is correct or not; they only need a headline that attracts readers. Saying «Pope Francis has broken protocol» has much more impact on the reader than «Pope Francis has stopped to talk to an acquaintance».

In short, the public’s lack of awareness is a thing that has an “easy” solution with the dissemination of knowledge to a greater or lesser extent. But changing and correcting what people have been hearing time and again in the media is a whole different thing that adds up to an already difficult situation for protocol.

Despite this, De la Serna Ramos reaches four conclusions in her research:

  • It cannot be said that the term protocol is always misused in the media since the use is appropriate and rigorous in some cases.
  • Secondly, in the Spanish case, with the arrival of democracy, the discipline began to find its place in media related to the authorities and the political class.
  • On the other hand, in the first years of the XXI century, an increase in the improprieties of the term and the discipline is detected. This is linked to etiquette in the society pages again.
  • Finally, and in view that the situation is more negative than positive, De la Serna Ramos proposes a measure to improve this discipline in media: include protocol subjects in journalism degrees and studies. Currently, only two universities with these studies offer this option.

Therefore, this situation is complicated to reverse and represents the first major challenge that the protocol has in the XXI century. There is, without a doubt, a significant lack of awareness on the part of the public in general, and this does not seem to be improving in the light of the situation with the media as described above.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

De la Serna Ramos, M. (2017). Tratamiento del protocolo en los medios de comunicación. Una aproximación. Revista de Estudios Institucionales, IV, 11-26.

Fuente Lafuente, C. (2013a). Los necesarios cambios en el Ceremonial de Estado. Compé. Revista Científica de Comunicación, Protocolo y Eventos, 4-19.

Fuente Lafuente, C. (2013b). Percepción de los medios de comunicación sobre el protocolo. Compé. Revista Científica de Comunicación, Protocolo y Eventos, 1, 156-173.

Gómez Requejo, M. (2017, junio 27). La importancia de los blogs en la divulgación/difusión del protocolo. El caso “Protocol bloggers point”. Revista Estudios Institucionales, 4(6), 117-136. Retrieved from http://revistas.uned.es/index.php/EEII/article/view/18862

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Writer by Daniel Delmás, Professional of events and protocol.

15 February 2022, The Netherlands

Category: Protocol 

Reference: DD15022022P    

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