COMMERCIAL DIPLOMACY IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD

Abstract

The beginning of 21st century has witnessed the consolidation of a process of globalization, where since the 1980s the hegemonic position of the United States has weakened and the international environment is moving towards a multipolar system with emerging economies adopting an increasing power. In this context, new non-state actors, such as non governmental organizations or multinational firms, have adopted an important role in the stage of international relations that in the past was limited to states and international organizations. The globalization process forced firms to operate internationally, and the financial crisis started in 2008 provoked the contraction of domestic markets and obliged governments and many firms from industrialized economies to look beyond the limits of their home states if they wanted to survive and benefit from the enormous opportunities offered by the new potential foreign markets. In order to achieve this, both governments and multinational firms should adapt diplomacy and its capabilities to their own specific needs. Commercial diplomacy includes policies, practices, instruments and organizational structures that governments and multinational firms should adopt at different levels to survive in today’s rapidly changing global business environment. Only by interacting between them and with the rest of actors within the international sphere, states and multinational firms will benefit from the switch in the balance of economic power.