''...when Shimon Peres said “We live in a world where markets are more important than countries,” he was suggesting that national borders or wars fought over territory are things of the past. Forgotten is the high degree of commercial (to say nothing of cultural) intercourse between France and Germany before the Franco-Prussian War.''
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is anxious to resume negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, a militaristic regime. His favorite mantra for negotiating with the PA is “reciprocity.” Hence it behooves him as well as us to understand the difference between martial and democratic diplomacy, which I discuss at length in my book Jewish Statesmanship (2000). Here is a first installment.
Negotiation between democracies and dictatorships is rendered exceedingly difficult by the basic differences in the political character of the two types of regimes. Diplomacy is not ideologically neutral. How and why states negotiate—their methods and objectives—depend mainly on their principles of government. The diplomacy of a government based on consent—on freedom of discussion, pluralism and compromise—will differ profoundly from the diplomacy of a government based on coercion, propaganda and conformity.
The experienced diplomat Sir Harold Nicholson makes a fundamental distinction between martial and democratic diplomacy. Whereas martial diplomacy regards negotiation between adversary states as a form of warfare pursued by other means, democratic diplomacy—largely the product of commercial societies—regards negotiation between adversaries as a means of conciliation requiring mutual concessions leading to lasting agreement and peace.
The methods of martial diplomacy resemble a series of military campaigns the ultimate goal of which is victory over the enemy if not his complete destruction. The purpose of negotiation is to outflank your enemy, to weaken him by all manner of attacks. If the opponent is a democracy, attempts will be made to manipulate public opinion through the media, the object being to undermine popular support for the government’s negotiating position. Efforts will also be made to divide the government itself by subtle appeals to political factions and opposition leaders. And of course there will be attempts to drive a wedge between the government and its allies. The principle is divide and conquer. http://www.newswithviews.com/Eidelberg/paul125.htm