Citizen diplomacy

From ArticleWorld

Citizen diplomacy, which is also called track two diplomacy, refers to the efforts of individual, un-authorized citizens to improve relations between countries or influence opinion on matters of arms, peace, international trade, and cultural conflicts. Citizen diplomacy takes the form of scientific and cultural exchange, conferences, familiarization trips, organized tours, workshops, school exchanges, and sporting tournaments. Citizen diplomacy is handy in peace time to improve relations that might be strained between two countries, or to lobby across borders on issues like nuclear proliferation or concerns about environmental issues. In general, citizen diplomacy works for positive engagement and de-escalation before governments agree to tackle problems. While track two diplomacy goes some way in countering 'enemy' images propagated by states and fostering trust, it is sometimes labelled as anti-national or treason when two countries are at war, such as happened in the United States when the Vietnam War was on.

The concept was used coined by diplomat Joe Montville and expanded on by former US ambassador John W McDonald and Louise Diamond, who proposed multi-track diplomacy, which includes professional diplomacy, professional conflict resolution, business relationships, activism, religious exchange, and public opinion and communications programs.