Diplomatic Presence Research Articles

TURKISH-IRANIAN COMPETITION IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

Turkey and Iran have maintained stable relations for decades and established cooperation by exploring their common interests despite many political disputes, ideological differences, or economic competition. But recently, many emerging disagreements of the two neighbors started to test the breaking point of this longtime balance. Today, Ankara and Tehran are trying to get a better hand against each other through diplomatic, military, and economic instruments. Starting by presenting an overview of Turkish-Iranian relations, this article focuses on the main points of friction between the two actors in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. The region is going through a critical juncture with crucial events such as the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020 and the aftermaths of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. So far, Turkey has increased its regional influence by strengthening its economic and diplomatic presence and establishing military cooperation. This target is pursued through the Turkic identity, which provides the ideological basis for Ankara’s regional strategy. The Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other hand, is trying to defend the regional status quo to resist the containment strategy and international isolation that it has been facing since the revolution. The “axis of resistance” idea that Iran pursues, especially in the Middle East, is almost nonexistent in the Central Asian and Caucasian region due to the Russian factor, lack of sympathy to such an approach on the part of the regional actors, and the Regime’s reluctance to change the status quo in its Northern and Eastern borders. In addition to Ankara and Tehran’s competing regional desires, several bilateral problems to solve in energy, trade, security, and migration management put the actors on the opposing sides. The study claims that the incompatibility between the actors’ regional strategies increases to the point that their rivalry in the Middle East will expand to Central Asia and the Caucasian region. But in contrast to this slow process, there are imminent common issues that can only be solved by a joint effort by Turkey and Iran, and this necessity will restrain the damages of this incompatibility on bilateral relations.

Do regional powers prioritise their regions? Comparing Brazil, South Africa and Turkey

Regional powers are often assumed to place diplomatic emphasis on their surrounding regions. Yet few systematic comparisons have been carried out to empirically verify this assumption. Do regional powers tend to devote more attention to their neighbours or to more influential global partners instead? This article attempts to bridge that gap by comparing the amount of diplomatic attention that Brazil, South Africa and Turkey have devoted to their regions, ie South America, Africa and the Middle East/North Africa region, respectively. Relying on data on presidential diplomacy and diplomatic presence from the Rising Powers Diplomatic Network (RPDN) data set, we verify which destinations were prioritised by these three countries from 1995 to 2018. Results indicate that South Africa is the most regionally committed regional power. Turkey shows the least significant regional engagement, while Brazil occupies an intermediate position.

Organization and functioning of foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine: theoretical and legal aspect

The article analyses the current legislation of Ukraine in the regulation of the diplomatic service, primarily related on the organization and functioning of foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine. The author explores the main innovations in the field of diplomatic service, in particular in the context of changes in the conceptual and categorical apparatus, system and elements of the diplomatic service, approaches to the organization and functioning of foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine. In the process of thorough analysis of the legislation of Ukraine, certain shortcomings in the current Law of Ukraine «On Diplomatic Service» and the Regulations on Foreign Diplomatic Institutions of Ukraine were identified, which in the future may cause problems in the application of law. The current state of the network of foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine (embassies, consulates and missions to international organizations) and the prospects for further expansion of Ukraine’s diplomatic presence in the world is shown. Based on the norms of international agreements, legislative and by-laws of Ukraine are described the procedure for the establishment and placement of foreign diplomatic institutions in Ukraine, the procedure for appointing their heads and outlining the functions entrusted to foreign institutions of Ukraine. Attention is also focused on an interesting novelty of the Law of Ukraine «On Diplomatic Service» – the introduction of a new type of foreign diplomatic institution – the Embassy of Ukraine with the residence of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in Kyiv. Although this norm exists only in the theoretical plane and has not been implemented in practice, but the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba sees great new prospects in this. Based on the results of the study, were singled out the main directions in which the reform of foreign institutions of Ukraine is carried out, as well as the author’s vision of the possible reasons that led to this process was expressed. Key words: foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine, diplomatic service, embassies of Ukraine, Consulate of Ukraine, permanent mission to international organizations, mission to international organizations, missions of Ukraine to international organizations, Law of Ukraine «On Diplomatic Service».

Around the Broken Chair: Locationality, Visuality and the Vibrancy of Diplomatic Objects

Summary The Broken Chair, a colossal sculpture positioned in the Place de Nations outside the main entrance to the Palais de Nations — the UN Office at Geneva — provides a site and a micro-geography of diplomacy. This essay examines this transgressive gift to the UN, challenging customary norms of gift-giving, and its energetic use by liminal diplomatic subjects pursuing diverse causes. It explores the social life and agential competences of this diplomatic object, its ability to recontextualise ‘the square of nations’ and to affect and empower those connected to it. Overall, it surveys its vibrant materiality that supports alternative diplomatic presence and possibility.

Sultan Murad IV’s Polish Campaign (1634)

The present study depicts the developments which took place at the Polish-Ottoman frontier and in the Ottoman imperial centre between 1633 and 1634, when a fullscale war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire was imminent. Even though the major episodes of the conflict have been highlighted from the Polish perspective several times before, it is hard to say the same regarding the Ottoman vantage point. Therefore, this paper tries to make use of major European embassy reports from the Ottoman capital, with cross-references to the Ottoman archival documentation of the period. In this way the paper aims to expound the escalation and resolution of the conflict from the Ottoman point of view and seeks to fill the gap left by the already-established Polish stances. It will also serve the purpose of attracting attention both to the Polish diplomatic presence in the Ottoman capital and to the Ottoman diplomatic activity with regard to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the years specified.

VIRTUAL DIPLOMATIC MISSION: ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL ANALYSIS

The scientific article analyses the current global trends of digital transformation in the field of diplomatic and consular relations, especially regarding the creation of a virtual diplomatic mission. The name of this institution differs in different countries, so the author decided to use an appropriate in his opinion generalizing term – virtual diplomatic mission. The main cases in which countries decide to implement their diplomatic presence in this form, based on the world practice of establishing virtual diplomatic missions, were identified. The peculiarities of the functioning of the institute of virtual diplomatic missions of the United States of America (for example, in Iran, San Marino, the Republic of Seychelles, the Republic of Maldives, etc.) are clarified. The difference between the US Virtual Embassy in Iran and other Virtual Embassies and virtual offices (Virtual Presence Post) is determined. The advanced Singaporean experience in the researched question is analyzed as such, which most fully corresponds to domestic innovations. In many foreign countries Singapore has established offices with the residence of the mission in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore. Such format of representation operates in Ukraine too. The article considers the position of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Ukrainian scientists on the prospects for the introduction such institutions in Ukraine The Law of Ukraine “On Diplomatic Service” adopted on June 7, 2018 provided for a new type of foreign diplomatic mission – the Embassy of Ukraine with the residence of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in Kyiv. However, the analysis of the current legislation of Ukraine gives grounds to believe that the legal support of the institution of "virtual diplomatic missions" in Ukraine is currently insufficient and does not provide a real mechanism for implementing this innovation. Proof of this is the lack of such institutions among foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine. Therefore, the author draws attention to the urgent need for legislative settlement of issues involved in the establishment and operation of the Embassies of Ukraine with the residence of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in Kyiv.

Activities of The First Ukrainian Representation in Istanbul: State Mission of Diplomats

The article offers an insight into the foundations and main directions of work of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Istanbul through the prism of the personalities of its leaders. The author paid particular attention to the problems that Ukrainians had to face at the first stage of the formation of Ukrainian-Turkish diplomatic relations. The article was prepared on the basis of archival information contained in documents, which are mainly stored in the Central State Archives of the High Authorities and Administration of Ukraine. The results of studies of Ukrainian and Turkish scientists are taken into account. Based on the documents revealed and historiography, it was stated that the activity of the first Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Turkey lasted more than three years. During April 1918 – June 1922, there were five heads of the diplomatic mission, namely Mykola Levytskyi, Mykhailo Sukovkin, Oleksandr Lototskyi, Jan Tokarzewski-Karaszewicz, Lev Lisniak, each of whom exerted best of their strengths, intelligence and devotion to the national idea to implement the state mission. Mykhailo Sukovkin inflicted harm on the image of Ukraine maintaining contacts within the White Guard and demonstrating a non-Ukrainian position. The author states that the main areas of activity of the diplomatic mission were to establish political and economic relations, disseminate truthful information about Ukraine, achieve recognition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, popularize and institutionalise the idea of the Black Sea Union, organise aid to Ukrainian prisoners of war and refugees in Istanbul, form them into Ukrainian army units. The termination of the activities of the Embassy of the UPR was the result of the signing of interstate treaties between Turkey and the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR in 1922. The mutual diplomatic presence of the UPR and the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and the extension of the stay of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Istanbul in June 1922 give grounds to suggest that after the restoration of Ukraine’s state independence in 1991, the Ukrainian-Turkish diplomatic relations were not established but restored. Keywords: Ukrainian People’s Republic, Ukrainian State, Embassy of the UPR in the Ottoman Empire, Brest Peace Treaty.

Rooms triomfalisme in de Amsterdamse straten

Abstract This article analyses the preparations and the implementation of the 27th International Eucharistic Congress, held at Amsterdam in 1924. After an introduction on the (negative) image of this congress in Dutch historiography, on the person of de papal legate (the Dutch cardinal Willem van Rossum CSSR), and on the phenomenon of the ‘Eucharistic Congresses’ and its organizing committee, the author analyses the forces pro and contra the organization of such a Congress in Amsterdam. The initiative was taken by some ultramontane clergy and laypeople, gathered around the revival of the devotion of the Amsterdam Eucharistic Miracle (1345). The bishop involved, mgr. A. Callier of Harlem, felt little of inviting the organizing committee to choose for Amsterdam, and also the (Roman Catholic) Prime Minister Ruijs de Beerenbrouck kept aloof, fearing a revival of protestant antipapism. So in advance it was already clear that the government and queen Wilhelmina would avoid every diplomatic presence – quit different as was the case at similar congresses in other countries. Besides, a grand procession through the Amsterdam streets was impossible because of the then still prevailing prohibition of public religious processions. The most important ceremonies thus were held in the Amsterdam soccer stadium. The Congress strengthened the feeling of unity of the ‘common’ Catholics with the Dutch cardinal as their shared national icon, but on the other hand it worsened the relations between the Dutch episcopate and the Prime Minister, and their ‘man in Rome’. In the end the Eucharistic Congress had no antipapistic consequences, and only limited political consequences, thanks to quite a lot of informal negotiations before and during the Congress. It nevertheless played a role on the background, when the government decided in 1925 to close the Dutch embassy at the Vatican.

SOE operations in Albania during the Second World War

After Mussolini entered World War II on the side of Hitler, the British sent a colonel into Albania in April 1941 to help the resistance, but he was soon captured. It would not be until April 16, 1943, that two more SOE officers, Lt. Col. Neil McLean and Captain David Smiley, parachuted into northern Greece and crossed the border. Others would follow, including a former lieutenant in the Spanish Foreign Legion, Peter Kemp; Himalayan explorer Bill Tillman; and Reginald Hibbert, whose view of events in Albania in the years to come would put him bitterly at odds with his fellow SOE officers. SOE operations were hampered by woeful British ignorance about Albania. London had only a lower-level diplomatic presence there before the Italian occupation, and the main source of information had been an elderly Englishwoman who had lived there for 20 years. This paper told the story of SOE operations in Albania.

United States and European Union Evolving Approaches in Southeast Asia: Moving Closer to Convergence or Divergence?

With the launch of Barack Obama’s strategic rebalance to Asia-Pacific, there has been a widening of the United States’ military, economic, and diplomatic presence in the Southeast Asian region. Likewise, it is clear that Southeast Asia is currently a region of relevant interest for both the United States and the European Union (EU). Surprisingly, however, up to the present, a systematic comparison of their approaches in the region has been largely lacking. To fill this void, this article compares US and EU interests, strategies, and main instruments of cooperation in Southeast Asia. Special attention is paid to the main developments that occurred in the United States, from Obama’s announcement of a strategic rebalance to Asia-Pacific to Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy, and in the EU, with the release there of the 2012 “Updated East Asia Policy Guidelines.” Examining whether the EU and the United States are moving towards a greater convergence of intent is of crucial importance for identifying opportunities for the further development of the transatlantic relationship in Southeast Asia. This article argues, though, that despite some apparent common traits in the US’s and the EU’s intentions, their strategies and instruments ultimately differ substantially – reflecting divergent paths. This creates crucial impediments to any further development of transatlantic cooperation in Southeast Asia.

From Embassy Ties to Twitter Links: Comparing Offline and Online Diplomatic Networks

This article investigates how diplomatic networks move into a new digital media platform, namely Twitter, through the analytical lenses of networked diplomacy studies and mediatization. We employ the studies in the former field to argue for the need to study the entire network to evaluate diplomatic relations, rather than relying on bilateral relations alone. Mediatization is then introduced to argue that moving to a digital platform (i.e., digitization) is a process in which countries might end up enjoying different levels of technology adoption. We first use social network analysis to compare the sizes and structures of brick and mortar embassy networks and Twitter following–follower relationship networks among ministries and ministers of foreign affairs of 130 countries. We then present a theoretical explanation of digitization of diplomatic networks. Our findings suggest that the majority of countries still have a larger diplomatic presence offline compared to their Twitter network. However, the structures of offline and online networks are similar, showing that countries have diplomatic relations (whether brick and mortar embassies or Twitter links) with the same groups of countries. We conclude by presenting the variance of the digitization process among countries.

Diplomats, Quo Vadis? The determinants of Brazilian diplomatic presence

Abstract Which factors determine the amount of diplomatic attention bestowed to partner countries? By analyzing the Brazilian case from 2008 to 2015, we compare the effect of structural, bilateral, and bureaucratic factors in shaping the country’s diplomatic presence abroad, as measured by the ranking and size of its diplomatic representations. Results indicate a consistent influence of bilateral and bureaucratic determinants.

“Ea mai Hawai‘inuiākea”: Marking the Global Diplomatic Presence of the Nineteenth-century Hawaiian Kingdom

“Ea mai Hawai‘inuiākea”1: Marking the Global Diplomatic Presence of the Nineteenth-century Hawaiian Kingdom Ronald Williams Jr. (bio) The field of Hawaiian history has witnessed several recent explorations of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s role in international diplomatic affairs of the nineteenth century. A common theme has been the outsized reach, both in breadth and potency, of the relatively diminutive island monarchy. In September 2018, the Honolulu Museum of Art opened a major exhibition entitled, “Ho‘oulu Hawai‘i: The King Kalākaua Era,”2 dedicated to the conception that during the mid-late nineteenth century, “Cosmopolitanism—the idea that local politics share systemic parallels internationally as part of a world citizenry—was a thriving philosophy in the Hawaiian Kingdom.”3 A significant component [End Page 133] of the exhibit was the material culture surrounding Hawaiian Kingdom statecraft, including: an official uniform “decidedly of a distinct national feature;”4 decorative royal orders, both awarded and received; and exquisite jewelry presented to Queen Kapi‘olani and Princess Lili‘uokalani as diplomatic gifts when the two represented the Hawaiian Kingdom at the 1887 Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in London. Several essays within the accompanying catalogue highlight “Hawai‘i’s place in a global society during what was, in Eurocentric terms, the modern era.”5 On 28 November 2018, the Hawai‘i State Archives [HSA] hosted an open house commemorating the 175th anniversary of the 1843 Anglo-French Declaration—an international recognition of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a sovereign and independent nation-state by Great Britain and France. A public lecture on one of Hawai‘i’s first commissioned diplomats, Timoteo Ha‘alilio (1808–1844), was followed by an exhibition displaying primary-source documents and artifacts highlighting Hawaiian Kingdom diplomatic history from 1843–1893. One case offered materials from Hawaiian Kingdom consulates—San Diego, Valparaiso, Antwerp, Pretoria, Hong Kong, and Sydney—located on six of the world’s seven continents. Also in 2018, the Hawaiian Historical Society, as part of its ongoing Public Lecture Series, hosted a research presentation by Tiffany Ing discussing her recent dissertation, “Ka Ho‘omālamalama ‘ana i nā Hō‘ailona o ka Mō‘ī Kalākaua a me kona Noho Ali‘i ‘ana: Illuminating the American, International, and Hawai‘i Representations of David Kalākaua and His Reign, 1874–1891.”6 Ing’s work examines both domestic and foreign representations of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s seventh mō‘ī [monarch] through English and Hawaiianlanguage newspapers; offering a broader evaluation and explanation of the Hawaiian leader’s activities and motivations. As in the aforementioned works, Ing examines the prolific international actions and efforts of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the resultant place afforded the Islands as a co-equal sovereign state in the great family of nations. She explains, “From the outset, then, the mō‘ī [Kalākaua] used well-established diplomatic methods to set up recipocal and symbolic relationships with other world leaders as part of his strategy to assert Hawai‘i’s independence.”7 [End Page 134] As part of a larger book project on the history of Hawaiian Kingdom diplomacy, I have recently sought to compile a complete list of Hawaiian Kingdom consulates and legations abroad from 1843–1893. Several lists have been previously published with varying numbers of cities that number from seventy to around 100—archivist Alice Tran of the Hawai‘i State Archives and I produced a list for the November 2018 open house that contained 117—but all have been decidedly partial. An examination of previously cited sources, along with the voluminous correspondence and diplomatic circular collections at the HSA, produced the list included below—revealing that during the nineteenth century, the Hawaiian Kingdom operated consulates and legations in at least 136 cities on six continents across the globe.8 Note: spellings and names of cities and countries listed reflect those used in the original primary sources. Consulates and Legations of the Hawaiian Kingdom Abroad [1843–1893] 1. Aguilas, Spain 2. Amsterdam, Netherlands 3. Antwerp, Belgium 4. Apemama, Kiribati 5. Apia, Samoa 6. Arecife de Lanzarotte, Canary Islands 7. Astoria, Oregon, USA 8. Auckland, New Zealand 9. Assumption, Paraguay 10. Bangkok, Siam 11. Barcelona, Spain 12. Batavia...

Foreign Missions in Kyiv in the Period of the Directorate of Ukraine: Forced Returning Home

The article construes diplomatic presence of foreign states in the period of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Ukrainian State in Kyiv as the entry of independent Ukraine to the international arena. It is emphasized that the activity of every foreign mission at that time merits separate study. It is highlighted that with the advent of the Directorate to power in December 2018, all diplomatic missions found themselves in similar circumstances as the unrelenting approach of the Bolsheviks to the capital of Ukraine threatened their presence in Kyiv. The article covers the issues of organizing cooperation with the new government, faced by both the representatives of the ‘old’ consular corps and envoys of the Hetman government, who did not cease their activity after the transition of power to the Directorate. The meeting of Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Symon Petliura, Fedir Shvets and Panas Andriievskyi at the railway station was mentioned. The meeting was also attended by thousands of Kyiv residents, as well as foreign representatives, such as Turkish envoy Mukhtar Bey, Finnish envoy Herman Gummerus, Bulgarian envoy Ivan Shishmanov, Ataman of the winter stanitsa of the All-Great Army of the Don General O. V. Cheriachukin, Consul of Switzerland, Duian of Consular Corps Gabriel Annie, Consul of Spain and Portugal Stelio Vasiliadi, not yet officially recognized Consul of Holland Timothy Fokker, representatives of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The article examines the hopes and tactics of various diplomatic parties with regard to decisions made at the 1919 Paris Conference. It is argued that the Directorate not only demonstrated its loyalty to most of the foreign missions but also provided financial loans upon their duly substantiated requests. The article sheds light on the events of 22 January 1919 and the involvement therein of all foreign representatives, the departure of diplomatic missions and further activities of those who remained in Kyiv. Keywords: the Directorate, diplomatic missions, government, foreign representatives and figures.

Beijing’s ‘Going Out’ Strategy and Belt and Road Initiative in the Sahel: The Case of China’s Growing Presence in Niger

ABSTRACTIn looking at the case of Niger, this article demonstrates that there have been a lot of similarities between China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched in 2013 and its ‘going out’ strategy initiated in the late 1990s. Prior to 2013, many of the BRI’s objectives and strategies were already at work in Africa, and particularly in socioeconomically poor, landlocked countries that badly need infrastructure and connectivity. It also shows that China has been ready to invest in projects that are not necessarily profitable in the short term to consolidate its economic and diplomatic presence in the targeted country as well as to help its large state firms growing and internationalizing. It then demonstrates that although Niger did not belong in the initial group of countries targeted by the BRI, this initiative has contributed to deepening China’s economic and political influence in Niger, particularly to the detriment of France. Finally, this article highlights that both in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, and in the BRI countries, China is facing emerging security challenges, continuing to mainly rely on others to overcome them.

British foreign policy towards Latin America in the twenty-first century: assessing the ‘Canning Agenda’

In November 2010, the then British Foreign Secretary William Hague delivered Canning House's annual lecture on the topic of Britain's relations with Latin America. In launching the so-called ‘Canning Agenda’, Hague pledged to ‘halt the decline in Britain's diplomatic presence in Latin America’. ‘It is now time’, Hague went on, ‘for an advance to begin’. This article represents the first scholarly analysis of this policy. In particular, it assesses British efforts to enhance its economic ties with the countries of Latin America; the status granted to Latin America in Britain's strategic world-view in the post-Brexit era; the impact on Britain of other external powers in the region; and the political relationships between Britain and the countries of Latin America. The article draws on interviews with the key policy-makers involved in the Canning Agenda, including William Hague, Sir Hugo Swire, Jeremy Browne, and several other officials and diplomats from Britain and throughout Latin America. It concludes that while an identifiable effort to enhance Britain's economic and political standing in Latin America is discernible since 2010, major impediments to achieving this goal persist across the range of areas explored.

The European Cooperation in the Southern Mediterranean: The Multilateralization of Bilateral Relations?

Summary This article focuses on institutionalized forms of diplomatic cooperation among European Union (eu) members in southern Mediterranean capitals. It argues that European diplomatic cooperation represents a thin form of multilateralization of member states’ bilateral relations with southern Mediterranean countries. By analysing diplomatic presence on the ground, it shows that the European Union delegations in the area are not only big, but also politically strong, and they interact with a large number of national diplomats. The article examines how eu delegations in the southern Mediterranean represent a diplomatic ‘site’, in which diplomacy occurs in the shape of information-gathering, representation and negotiation, including among eu member states. This does not amount to a single European diplomatic system, however, as coordination remains thin to date and the agenda-setting mechanisms for eu delegations’ work and for European diplomatic cooperation have not (yet?) been fully developed.

Final Reports of Papal Diplomats as a Cultural Message: The Case of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

This paper focuses on the cultural and political importance of papal nuncios’ final reports ( relazioni finali ) as one of the basic sources of knowledge about the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth in the Roman Curia. The final report was a document, in essence a summary, which a diplomat was required to complete at the end of his mission (or immediately after). During the creation of the office of permanent nuncio to the major European courts, the preparation and delivery of the final report often took place orally. Gradually, the relazione evolved into a written version. Throughout the sixteenth century, when knowledge about Poland-Lithuania in Rome was rather poor, the relazioni finali consisted of colourful descriptions of the geography, the history, and the social and political relations of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. During the seventeenth century, this document became more political in character. It related directly to the activities of the papal diplomats, rituals and ceremonials, and any particular problems regarding the missions, rather than extensive descriptions of relatively banal curiosities. Throughout the seventeenth century in particular, when a permanent papal diplomatic presence had just been established in Poland-Lithuania, the final reports were an important contribution to future missions. Newly-appointed nuncios therefore willingly used the extremely important information contained therein. The practice of writing relazioni finali made it easier for the Holy See to consolidate its diplomatic influence and presence in Central and Eastern Europe in the early modern period. It also fostered papal interest in the social and political features of the enormous ‘noble’ republic.

Italy and EU enlargement to the Western Balkans: the Europeanization of national interests?

Italy is a vocal supporter of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans. Relying on primary and secondary sources and semi-structured interviews, this article analyses Italy’s position, including the ‘what?’ (the traditional views of the country on EU enlargement), the ‘how?’ (formal processes and actual practices of decision-making) and the ‘why?’ (the main factors influencing its position). The expected economic and security benefits for Rome largely compensate for the perceived costs of EU enlargement towards the region. Nevertheless, Italy’s influence capacity is hampered by lack of resources and a traditional focus on mere diplomatic presence, as it emerges from the recent examples of the Berlin Process, the refugee crisis, and the EUSAIR.

The U.S. Department of State's Mental Health Services: A Model for Integrated Care.

Since it was established in 1979, the U.S. Department of State's mental health service has functioned as a unique program of care for U.S. diplomats and their family members, currently encompassing more than 250 U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. Such an approach has allowed for rapid delivery of high-quality care in collaboration with regional medical officers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and local assets. Data from the past three decades indicate that the program has had low rates of medical evacuation and repatriation and low rates of mortality. Building from its roots in disaster and crisis response, the program now offers integrated mental health care in a geographically distributed, worldwide program to address the general medical and behavioral health needs of an expanding U.S. diplomatic presence in increasingly remote, challenging, and dangerous environments.