Introduction

Abstract

This introductory chapter shows how parliamentarians and parliamentary institutions can be agents of change and make an impact on international relations. It argues that gathering knowledge about the structure, scope, practice, and potential of parliamentary diplomacy of unrepresented and unrecognized entities is important if one is to aim for a comprehensive knowledge about parliamentary diplomacy in the contemporary international community, and for an understanding of its opportunities and limitations for entities with parliamentary representation that cannot fully enter international relations due to their ‘non-status’. The chapter briefly presents an analysis of Taiwan's parliamentary diplomacy, which is contextualized within the dialectical relationship between parliamentarians as actors (agents); acting as members of parliamentary institutions (the Legislative Yuan, national parliaments, international parliamentary associations, parliamentary organs of international governmental organizations and party alliances); and the environment in which they operate and which affects, by both enabling and limiting, their opportunities and the choices they make as agents of parliamentary diplomacy. Such an environment (the structure) is complex and a result of numerous processes over time. Accordingly, this environment is researched at three levels: individuals, states, and at international level.