Parliamentary Diplomacy: A Review Article

Abstract

Abstract There is growing academic interest in parliamentary diplomacy. This is a welcome development because for many years only parliamentary practitioners themselves paid much attention to the parliamentarization of international affairs, and then mainly from a technical interparliamentary cooperation perspective. This presently consolidating academic literature still requires a fresh impetus if only because there still remain numerous important and problematic issues that need to be addressed. This article will first set the study of parliamentary diplomacy in its wider context, offering examples and definitions. It will then review its main findings to date – before suggesting a number of important research questions that deserve further attention. It is argued that future studies will need to examine them in more detail in order to strengthen academic research into this ever-expanding worldwide phenomenon. The conclusions will also include a practical suggestion for developing this important new dimension in diplomatic studies even further.