Module Reflections

Looking back on my first impressions of the subject and what I recorded during the first lecture, it is clear that my knowledge on the subject has developed and that I have a much broader understanding of world politics and diplomacy. I feel that my knowledge previously was limited and indicated that I had not fully understood the true breadth of politics and the diplomatic world.

I now understand that diplomacy is not confined to just political issues that are discussed by heads of state. Instead diplomacy is a very wide term that encompasses a vast amount of topics, issues, people, countries and organizations (private and non-governmental).

Each week we have studied a new area, a new aspect of diplomacy and the impact that this had/has on world politics. We have often discussed the question marks surrounding the need for diplomats that the world has and whether the large number is really necessary: particularly popular is the example of the EU which many see as a duplication of the role of embassies and diplomats in each country and question whether each country needs these diplomats and embassies when the EU exists. However, many people (and including me prior to our discussions) do not see the true extent of diplomacy and all the negotiations that go on these days in our globalised society.

I feel that the visits to the embassies has helped to strengthen my knowledge and enlightened us to the importance of diplomats today and the significant work that they do, both in the public eye and behind the scene in order to keep order in such a broad range of subjects such as economics, foreign policy, the environment and more. The Swedish embassy showed us the importance of these diplomats even with the European Union and the Ghanaian High Commission emphasized the importance of the variety of areas in which an embassy works.