Diplomats as Permanent Representatives

Abstract

It is not very well known that term order, which foreign policy practitioners often use to talk about international playing field, was actually coined by Norwegian zoologist Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe in 1922 to describe dominance hierarchy of hens.1 Clearly expression, as little flattering for diplomats as its origins may sound, captures a fundamental sociopolitical dynamic in world politics: practice of diplomacy takes place within a highly - though often unreflectively - structured social space in which hierarchy and stratification are rule, not exception. Formally, as well as informally, each player has a specific rank and role, attached to distinct ways of doing things, duties, and privileges. Often tacit but ever present in background of world politics, international pecking order forms, at from a practical point of view, backbone of diplomacy.This article looks for diplomatic pecking order where one might not expect to find it - inside multilateral international organizations. After all, given often deep-rooted relationships involved in international organizations like NATO or European Union, tightly knit multilateral dubs constitute what methodologists typically call least likely cases for exploration of international pecking order. In following pages, I delve into everyday life of permanent representatives (i.e., diplomats heading national missions to multilateral international organizations) to capture practical specificities of this form of diplomacy. Perm reps, as insiders call them, enjoy a rather unique diplomatic experience, which is well worth a specific inquiry - all more so, in fact, in that their sphere of competence is fast expanding in early 21st century due to ongoing multilateralization of world politics. Empirically, my main focus is on key skills and practical logics upon which practice of permanent representation is premised. To this purpose, I begin with diplomacy as a category of practice.2 I then examine it under light of selected socialtheoretical concepts derived from political sociology.I argue that being a permanent representative typically requires specific skills which, although not entirely exclusive to these diplomats, are solicited with a particular intensity in a multilateral setting. I first identify two specific features of multilateral diplomacy, groupness and nearness, which foster pecking order dynamics and turn community of practice into a world unto itself. Its many rules of game are in evidence in socialization dynamics and social sanctions that characterize work of permanent representation in international organization. In second section, 1 zoom in on main task of multilateral diplomacy - negotiation - and delineate some of its practical logics, including need to make things work, practices of joining consensus, reaching out, etc. Arguing that practices instantiate a working (pecking) order by clarifying various permanent representatives' rank and role around table, I identify basic skill of permanent representative as something Goffman calls of one's place. Finally, third section provides a short illustration based on case of Canada in United Nations pecking order. I conclude with a comment on possible professionalization of diplomat qua permanent representative in 21st century.THE SMALL WORLD OF PERMANENT REPRESENTATIONIt is by now pretty well established that diplomacy relies on a set of skills and dispositions generally learned in and through practice. Nicolson contends that common sense is essence of diplomacy; Satow equates practice with the application of intelligence and tact to conduct of official relations between governments of independent states; Kissinger asserts that diplomacy is an art, not a science; and Acheson contends that it involves a mysterious wisdom, too arcane for layman. …