Niche Diplomacy Research Articles

Blue Economic Beacon: Red And White Leads The Way Through Niche Diplomacy

This research has a specific objective to analyze the Indonesian government's strategy in realizing sustainable marine development based on its role as a middle power country. The author uses the theoretical framework of middle power identity and niche diplomacy to analyze the problems in this study. This research is a type of qualitative research that is explained using the explanatory method. Based on the results of the research, the Indonesian government's strategy is to prioritize sustainable marine development in national marine policy and also commit to contributing to the world's sustainable marine development with the blue economy principle. This commitment will be realized by increasing cooperation in the marine sector at the bilateral, multilateral and regional levels. Specifically, the form of the realization of this commitment is that Indonesia has become the strategy of the Indonesian government to realize sustainable marine development is to become the initiator of the formation of cooperation forums (coalition building), to become the contact person for countries in the interest of sustainable marine development (bridge builder), and to uphold international norms in the marine sector for the common good (catalyst).

R2P Niche Diplomacy and Norm Development in Times of Politicization: A Look at Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden

ABSTRACT Small states often conduct niche diplomacy. They focus their limited resources on advocacy in specific policy areas. For example, some promote human rights-based norms such as the responsibility to protect (R2P) and advance those norms’ social recognition in United Nations discourse. However, given the R2P’s politicized status, niche diplomacy in this realm has become increasingly difficult. This paper focuses on three small liberal states supporting R2P: Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Drawing on data from speeches and interviews, it analyses how these states engaged rhetorically with the R2P between 2017 and 2022. It identifies the divergent meanings that these states attach to R2P, and thus contributes to scholarship on norm support and contestation. Denmark has continually supported R2P initiatives, while Sweden and the Netherlands have prioritized accountability. From a critical constructivist perspective, these Western states’ diplomacy reflects different ‘meanings-in-use’ for R2P, which contribute to either norm reproduction or norm adaptation. Explicit R2P diplomacy strengthens the norm in the long term, while supporting this agenda without reference to R2P may help achieve other desired policy outcomes in the short term. The latter approach, however, challenges parts of the R2P norm by contributing to its contested status and narrowing scope.

Do MENA countries practice digital diplomacy? An analysis of their embassies’ websites in Spain

This research carries out an analysis of the websites published by MENA countries’ embassies with a presence in Spain, in order to understand whether they practice digital diplomacy. Such activity is a low-cost, wide-ranging public diplomacy tool. The analysis covers a two-year period (2020-2022) that coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic, a context that prompted the digitization of many sectors. The article contributes to the literature on Arab and Israeli digital diplomacy, as well as on digital diplomacy as practiced by embassies. Specifically, this exploratory analysis examines the webpages and published press notes of four countries’ embassies, including Saudi Arabia, Israel, Morocco, and Qatar. These countries were chosen because they have the most robust websites in Spanish, together with the fact that they were the MENA countries whose governments pioneered the use of Twitter as an instrument of digital diplomacy. The article examines the topics and interpretations provided by the press notes published on these embassies’ websites. A discourse analysis methodology with references to the original sources is applied. Topics and interpretations are classified into four types of public diplomacy: media diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, niche diplomacy and nation branding. The conclusion is that the MENA countries studied neglect digital diplomacy on their websites in Spain, missing out on the opportunities it represents. The apparently four most digitized embassies in this group have errors on their webpages and often only publish messages from their respective foreign ministries, focusing on regional and internal issues rather than on their bilateral relationship with Spain. This is especially true of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Japan’s Quiet Power: The Case of Tokyo’s Vaccine Diplomacy to Southeast Asia

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan’s vaccine diplomacy in Southeast Asia has gained much traction as regional countries are wrestling with a dual challenge, i.e., navigating the pandemic and seeking economic recovery and growth. Japan’s donation of coronavirus vaccine shots to Southeast Asian countries confronting this severe pandemic is one expression of Tokyo’s strategic approach towards the region: helping regional countries in need and buttressing its status as a responsible stakeholder. What should deserve attention is that Tokyo has sought a more robust status with its niche diplomacy, the signature characteristic of middle powers, while keeping a low profile in its support for regional countries. The paper argues that as Japan is becoming more committed to the Indo-Pacific region in general and Southeast Asia specifically, Tokyo’s niche diplomacy of vaccine donations has sought to win the hearts and minds of regional countries. The non-traditional approach can foster Japan’s status in Southeast Asia and widen its maneuvering space amid China’s growing assertiveness. Japan’s diplomatic statecraft portrayed via Tokyo’s vaccine diplomacy in Southeast Asia may provide emerging middle powers with valuable lessons on strengthening their influence.
 
 Received: 31 January 2022 / Accepted: 18 April 2022 / Published: 5 July 2022

ROK-Mekong Economic Assistance: A how-to for Latin America

Economic development is one of the main objectives of international cooperation. Based on that concept, the Mekong alliance, composed of developing Asian countries, was established in 2011. In response, South Korea, Asian economic leader, has architected several strategies to propitiate development among these nations using niche diplomacy. This investigation paper intends to evaluate the impact of said methodology as well as proposing a replication strategy in Latin America (Latam) while making use of Sequential Transformative Design. The results indicate that the areas of infrastructure and human capital are the ones that share the most similarities between Mekong and Latam and that the cooperation intervention from Korea has generated a positive impact in the development of the countries in the Southeastern region. Thus, it can be concluded that these mediations build up a role model for development policies to be implemented in Latam, guaranteeing regional growth.

Understanding oscillations in Turkish foreign policy: pathways to unusual middle power activism

The conventional literature on the role of middle powers emphasises the importance of soft power, niche diplomacy and coalition building. This article explores a case of unusual middle power activism with a focus on recent Turkish foreign policy behaviour. It demonstrates how the interaction of domestic politics and external dynamics produced an unusual degree of foreign policy activism, going well beyond conventional middle power behaviour, with the government increasingly employing coercive diplomacy and militaristic methods. We demonstrate that unusual middle power activism in a shifting international order yielded ‘populist dividends’ to the ruling elite in the short run but led to a ‘triple governance crisis’ in the economy, politics and foreign policy, with each element feeding into the others in a path-dependent fashion.

The survival of small states in the Gulf region: COVID-19, pandemic politics and the future of niche diplomacy

The Gulf is increasingly recognized as one of the most dynamic and unstable regions in the international system. Within the region, the survival of small states can no longer be taken for granted and power relations are conflictual. The hegemonic ambitions of larger regional state actors draw small states into a contested orbit and emphasize the fluidity of pre-existing notions of the balance of power. This has led to forms of fragmentation. Small states can no longer sit comfortably under the shelter of regional and even external super-powers. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small states like Kuwait and Qatar is a useful prism to examine the ways in which such small states attempt to project power and sovereignty through their diplomatic responses. Our argument, here, is that such discourse is framed as part of an ideational and material construct for state resilience within a regional and international system that is perceived as predatory. Yet pandemic politics reveals both the opportunities and limits of such approaches.

Polish smart power in terms of NGOs activity and intersections between development aid and public diplomacy

Intersections and links between public diplomacy and development aid have so far seldom been a subject of scientific analysis. Development aid as a component of niche diplomacy in the case of medium-sized countries, such as Poland, was eventually noticed by researchers of public diplomacy, and considered in terms of a state’s power. This article presents the results of a study whose goals were to find out in which areas Polish development aid and public diplomacy had common points, what the NGOs’ participation in both fields was, and whether the participation of the non-governmental sector in the implementation of development aid could itself be treated as public diplomacy. Subsequently, the study aimed to establish to what extent those possible common points, supported by NGOs’ activities, could become a Polish specialty, a niche that could be used by Poland in building its smart power. I claimed that public diplomacy is a form of political communication, used in the implementation of foreign policy, in cooperation with non-state actors, and in two contexts: building the image of the state and building its relationships with the international community; Whereas I understand development aid as the entire activity of the donor’s government for supporting developing countries, including humanitarian aid. The aid initiatives are carried out with non-state entities involvement; and the global education as a part of development cooperation is included here too. Referring my study’s assumptions to the concept of J. Pamment concerning three levels of intersections between public diplomacy and development aid, I divided Polish activity into development, humanitarian, and voluntary projects; branding, marketing, promotional and global education activities, and finally the discourse on projects and communication activities. Both public diplomacy and development aid were considered in terms of power. However in the case of development aid, both soft and hard resources were noticed, whereas in public diplomacy—only the soft ones. It prompted me to analyse both areas in terms of smart power, which—according to J.S. Nye’s concept—is understood here as the combination of hard and soft resources. To achieve that I found the methods such as foreign policy analysis (documents content analysis, institutional analysis), case study, desk research, as well as participant observation, to be very useful. It turned out that many areas in which Poland, after joining the European Union in 2004, could build its international social relationships within its smart power have already been taken over by more developed countries. Nevertheless, the results of the study proved that between 2004 and 2012 a successful transformation and democracy promotion became components of Poland’s narrative as a country of smart democratic changes, and Polish NGOs’ significantly participated these processes. Additionally, as a result of my study I proposed the possibility of examining both areas based on NGOs’ activity in terms of Polish smart power, also in the future.

MIDDLEPOWERMANSHIP IN KOREAN FOREIGN POLICY

As a result of the Post-Cold War development, the international relations have shifted from bipolarism to a multipolarism. Once relevant Western-born IR theories lack explanatory power. Current IR witness the growing role of the non-Western states both in regional and international domains. Consequently, there is a growing need for appropriate IR theories that could explain the changing world structure, describe the role of new powers in international politics and define future development. Thus, it is essential to study non-Western research that focuses on conceptualization of ongoing processes from its perspective.The authors analyze the IR theories developed by South Korean scholars. The purpose of this article is to analyze South Korean interpretations of the middlepowermanship that considers the Republic of Korea’s unique regional and global context. South Korean scholars agree on a particular geostrategic location of the state. The geopolitical location, absence of natural resources and limited military power hinder South Korea’s ability to use hard power in regional and international politics. However, South Korea’s economic development and creative approach in foreign policy translate into middle power diplomacy, which includes niche diplomacy, moderating role in relations between greater powers, regional cooperation promotion, and development of the international legal system.The authors conclude that South Korean version of middle power theory is continuously being (re) interpreted and adapted to the country’s foreign policy. South Korea is to be a a bridge between the great powers in the region.

Konsistensi Indonesia sebagai Kekuatan Menengah: Studi Kasus Respon Deterrence di Natuna

As Jakarta is working to resolve the South China Sea (SCS) territorial dispute through its role as an honest broker, Beijing seems to lead the SCS conflict right into the foremost defense of the Republic of Indonesia. This is indicated by the China Coast Guard (CCG) aggressive actions in guarding illegal fishing in Natuna Sea. The conflict escalation raises the question of whether Natuna will enter into the SCS territorial dispute. However, these concerns did not occur due to the appropriate response of Jakarta in maintaining the stability of the region without undermining its defense of its territorial sovereignty. Significantly strengthening the defense in Natuna does not create a security dilemma for ASEAN member countries as it is done in conjunction with the border diplomacy effort. This shows the success of border diplomacy as indirect deterrence against China. This paper will be divided into 4 sections, first the author will give an overview of the SCS conflict and the threats to maritime security in Natuna. Next will be described the concept of ‘middlepowermanship’ according to Cooper, Higgot and Nossal who states that the middle power is reflected from the characteristics of foreign policy. This paper finds that the response reflects the Indonesia’s consistency as a middle power. Proved by Indonesia’s niche diplomacy under Jokowi administration, as well as the role of Jakarta as coalition builder for ASEAN.

Роль Норвегії в розвитку відновлюваної енергетики в країнах, що розвиваються в контексті «нішевої дипломатії»

Забезпечення загального доступу до недорогих, надійних, стійких і сучасних джерел енергії проголошено однією з сімнадцяти цілей сталого розвитку 2016-2030. У статті в контексті концепції «нішевої дипломатії» досліджено участь Норвегії в розвитку відновлюваної енергетики в країнах, що розвиваються. Окреслено підходи до визначення поняття «нішева дипломатія». У випадку Норвегії доцільно говорити про появу своєрідної ніші «good power», одним з проявів якої є її екологічно-енергетична складова, зокрема в рамках допомоги країнам, що розвиваються. Зазначено, що серед скандинавських країн Норвегія є найбільшим інвестором в розвиток відновлюваної енергії в країнах, що розвиваються, як через державні, так і через приватні компанії, що свідчить про наявність в них потужного норвезького кластеру компаній-промоутерів відновлюваної енергетики. Досліджено інституції країни та основні канали в контексті надання допомоги для розвитку відновлюваної енергії та проаналізовано їх географічну структуру. В роботі використовувались методи порівняння, систематизації і узагальнення даних. Зроблено висновок, що підтримка сфери відновлюваної енергетики стала одним з елементів позиціонування Норвегії як «доброї сили», що сприятиме посиленню міжнародно-політичної вагомості країни.

Anatomy of the Republic of Korea’s Niche Strategic Engagement in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS): ROK’s Tailor-Made Strategy and its Security Policy Implication

Republic of Korea’s engagement in Southeast Asia could be generally understood as its Official Development Aid (ODA) strategy in most academic interpretation. Nonetheless, this article examines not only Korea’s traditional ODA approach toward Southeast Asia but also Korea’s uniquely tailor-made strategy toward Indo-China Peninsula in particular as well as what is to be done. In other words, this article intends to take further step beyond ODA interpretation of this particular subject over this region. This study specifically provides with multi-dimensional analysis of Republic of Korea’s involvement in Mekong River Sub-region as well as its regional and global security policy implication. The main thesis of this study is that Korea had no choice but to pursue Niche diplomacy toward the region because Korea did not possess full capacity enough to compete against Japan or China. In this sense, Korea’s own development experience is very unique and perhaps the only experience that no other country in the world has possessed. This article contends that Korea’s knowledge based capacity building projects toward Greater Mekong Sub-region such as KSP, CIAT, special Master’s degree training projects, local capacity building process, and etc. will continue to increase and diversify in terms of scale and contents. Again, based upon Knowledge based capacity building projects, Korea is in the process of producing a wide range of its unique tailor- made ODA programs for each member states of GMS. Unlike Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Korea also tends to put more emphasis on creating exclusive Master’s degree Training Program which is centered on trainees of ODA Recipient countries. In this regard, Korea’s approach is aiming at strengthening discrimination by introducing a systemic evaluation system for training projects. This program will also turn out linchpin of ROK’s new strategy toward Mekong River area.

Health as niche diplomacy: assessing design and practices of Brazilian health diplomacy at the beginning of the 21st century

Abstract The paper explores Brazilian health diplomacy since 2000 by identifying aspects of design and practice employed by the actors involved. The Brazilian engagement is analyzed through the concept of niche diplomacy, with a focus on the use of technical capacities and on the venues through which the country aimed at exerting influence in global health by resorting to its internal expertise.

Korea’s Role for Peacebuilding and Development in Asia

South Korea (Korea) lacks the compulsory power of regional and global great powers, but still strives to play a major role in the fields of peacebuilding and development. It is a middle power which, due to geopolitical constraints, is unable to play the neutral or brokering role of traditional middle powers, and thus must turn to other areas of agenda setting and niche diplomacy. This article examines policy arenas for which Korea is particularly well suited to playing such a role, and in which Korea can have a major impact, significantly to the mutual advantage of Korea and its regional partners. In order to do so to the best of its ability, Korea needs to shift its policy emphasis from bilateral to multilateral endeavors.

Drivers of the Foreign Policies of Southern African Small States

ABSTRACTIn international relations small states are either discarded as irrelevant, unimportant, or weak; held in high regard as potential movers and shakers in especially smart or niche diplomacy areas; powerful in blocs; or as a non-classification, that is undeserving of a unique type separate from the world body of states. Regardless of varying perceptions, small states exist and more so, they exist with foreign policies. This study examines what drives the foreign policies of the southern African small states of Botswana, the Comoros, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, the Seychelles and Swaziland. It finds that state size is important in shaping the foreign policies of these southern African small states, but that it is not mutually exclusive from other typical domestic and international determinants that play a role in conditioning most states’ foreign policies. Moreover, defence of national interest features as a common and undeniable primary foreign policy objective of these states.

Australian experiments in creative governance, regionalism, and plurilateralism

The previous Abbott government had prioritized a general attitude to foreign policy captured by the phrase “Jakarta not Geneva,” which signified a preference for bilateral or minilateral interactions with the region rather than United Nations-based multilateralism. With Julie Bishop MP as Australia’s first female foreign minister, the Coalition also prioritized economic diplomacy, as exemplified by the repeated refrain that Australia is “open for business.” This approach led to a preference for diplomatic venues and processes that focused on continuing investments in regional architecture, new emphasis on minilateral dialogues such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, and Australia (MIKTA), and more effort directed to bilateral and plurilateral processes such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. This approach has been continued under Prime Minister Turnbull, with a renewed focus on innovation. Part 1 considers minilateral and regional investments in the Indo-Pacific region, primarily, IORA, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). I consider MIKTA a unique vehicle for Australian diplomacy. Part 2 considers what issues Australia should be pursuing through these forums, with a focus on the two themes of gender equality (as an example of niche diplomacy) and trade (multilateralism under pressure) as case studies. Beeson and Higgott argue that middle powers have the potential to successfully implement “games of skill,” especially at moments of international transition. How skilful have Australia’s efforts been in these minilateral dialogues, enhanced regionalism, and plurilateral processes, and what more can be achieved in these forums? Are these efforts creating more fragmentation of the rules-based order, or are they a way to overcome global governance stalemates? I set out the arguments for whether Australia, as a pivotal power, should generate more global options, or be more focused on inclusion in the Asia-Pacific region.

Regional health governance: A suggested agenda for Southern African health diplomacy.

Regional organisations can effectively promote regional health diplomacy and governance through engagement with regional social policy. Regional bodies make decisions about health challenges in the region, for example, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the World Health Organisation South East Asia Regional Office (WHO-SEARO). The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has a limited health presence as a regional organisation and diplomatic partner in health governance. This article identifies how SADC facilitates and coordinates health policy, arguing that SADC has the potential to promote regional health diplomacy and governance through engagement with regional social policy. The article identifies the role of global health diplomacy and niche diplomacy in health governance. The role of SADC as a regional organisation and the way it functions is then explained, focusing on how SADC engages with health issues in the region. Recommendations are made as to how SADC can play a more decisive role as a regional organisation to implement South–South management of the regional social policy, health governance and health diplomacy agenda.

South Africa’s Post-apartheid Nuclear Diplomacy: Practice and Principles

Almost three decades after South Africa dismantled its nuclear weapons programme and weapons, the question remains why the country has not reversed this decision. This contribution, using three illustrative case studies—the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), South Africa’s inspection team in Iraq (prior to the United States (US)-led invasion in March 2003 and the nuclear fuel reserve of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—argues that South Africa has conducted its nuclear diplomacy using niche diplomacy as a diplomatic practice. These practices have revealed certain normative principles of South Africa’s post-apartheid nuclear diplomacy, which explain why the country has not reversed its decision. The contribution analyses South Africa’s nuclear diplomacy in the early twenty-first century by focusing on selected post-2000 nuclear-related events and developments.

Peace Diplomacy and the Domestic Dimension of Norwegian Foreign Policy: The Insider's Accounts

By focusing on the internal conditions and rationale behind the development of Norwegian peace diplomacy (as seen by Norwegian diplomats and nongovernmental organisation representatives), this study argues that the high level of the country's engagement in international peace efforts and its success in pursuing a ‘niche diplomacy’ can be attributed to two factors. First, it is the ability of the Norwegian government to capitalise on the society's belief that Norwegians are a ‘Peace Nation’ with a missionary obligation. Second, it is the existence of the so‐called ‘Norwegian Model’, which allows creating efficient interactions between government, civil society and research institutions in specific foreign policy efforts. Both factors combined make Norwegian peace diplomacy a model example representing New Public Diplomacy, where domestic civil society remains both an audience (‘Norway as a Peace Nation’ notion) and a driver (Norwegian model of cooperation) of state public diplomacy efforts.

International Mediation: A Specific Diplomatic Tool For Emerging Countries?

Abstract It is widely acknowledged that emerging countries are characterised by active foreign policies. This article intends to shed light on a specific and unaddressed domain of emerging countries’ foreign policies by reflecting on the use of international mediation. Two major questions will be addressed. Has international mediation become a ‘niche diplomacy’ for emerging countries, meaning that mediation is particularly targeted for diplomatic activity? Do emerging countries really develop specific mediation strategies in comparison to developed countries? By studying international mediation at the conceptual and practical levels and in relation with the countries’ foreign policy goals, this work will show that Turkey stands out for having gone further in making international mediation a ‘niche diplomacy’, with an evident will to institutionalise this practice. South Africa, Brazil and China use this non-coercive tool on a more ad hoc basis – even if with a varied frequency – while India is not yet involved in this field of activity. It will also highlight the fact that emerging countries have so far not brought about substantial change in the practice of mediation. Where the specificity of emerging countries’ approach is more evident is in the mediating role they intend to play, on a more global scale, between the developed and the developing world. Keywords: international mediation; conflict resolution; emerging countries; diplomacy; foreign policy ----- Bibliography: Dieckhoff, Milena: International Mediation: A Specific Diplomatic Tool For Emerging Countries?, ERIS, 2-2014, pp. 107-124. https://doi.org/10.3224/eris.v1i2.16506