Empathy in Diplomacy
Empathy in Diplomacy

Summary/Abstract: The authors argue that diplomacy as a higher-order cooperative activity is possibly only against the backdrop of assumptions about a prior disposition of those taking part in it to reach out to their counterparts not only rationally, but also emotionally. While the traditional, negotiations-based model of diplomacy continues to be verbally depicted as the generic model for diplomacy as a whole, it is essentially a negative stereotype that portrays diplomatic relations as compromise-seeking efforts between otherwise entrenched opposed positions. Modern diplomacy transcends this traditional model and can thus be called “integrative diplomacy”: it arises from broadening perceptions of common identities and similarities between the various communities, and thus rests much more on empathy, sympathy and solidarity than the negotiations-based model. It is thus not surprising that the integrative methodology of diplomacy makes it predominantly multilateral, as opposed to structurally fundamentally bilateral traditional negotiations.

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