Ethical Diplomacy

TITLE: The Role of Ethical Diplomacy in British International Relations in the 21st century

Introduction

This paper outlines a research proposal on the influence of ethics in international diplomacy. This broad topic is analysed from a British diplomatic point of view. The structure of this research proposal is as follows: it will firstly present the rationale and exigency of this research, followed by a brief introductory literature review. It concludes with a preliminary methodological development section.

Research proposal

To offer an original contribution to the fields of international relations, diplomacy, and ethics, it is paramount that the research be focussed. Therefore our research question is: what is the role of ethical diplomacy in British International Relations in the 21st century? We cover a period of ten years starting from 2000, and examine how ethical diplomacy has evolved through several UK governments, notably a change from Labour to a coalition government between Conservatives and Liberal-Democrats in 2010. We believe that diplomatic and academic communities alike would welcome this piece of research. The proposed research will concentrate on a thorough and detailed analysis of the positions and views of influential actors in British diplomatic institutions. We are aware that the UK is part of the European Union and therefore will necessarily be subject to EU influence in their diplomatic stances. There is a growing consensus that the EU is progressively adopting a common foreign policy on various issues (Smith, 2003). Nevertheless, controversial issues such as the Iraq invasion in 2003 have put into perspective the clear divisions between EU state members. We posit that attitudes towards ethical diplomacy in British institutions will be influenced by the influential power and position of the UK as a player in global relations. However it will also be interesting to see if it is also rooted in culture and history.

Literature Review...