The Visa Dimension of Diplomacy

The consular element of national diplomatic power plays an essential, but often underrated and overlooked role in international relations. This consular dimension of diplomacy has often taken the backseat to the political and military aspects of foreign policy in the past. This situation has changed dramatically with the end of the Cold War and the rapid globalization of the world economy. This shift to a unipolar world, but global marketplace, emphasizes the increasing importance of so-called ‘low politics’ – trade, commerce, tourism, migration – all traditional consular areas of interest.

While one superpower, the United States, may currently dominate the military and political aspects of the international environment, the economic and commercial interplay among nations is more diffuse and requires a nuanced and multilateral diplomatic approach. This environment is caused largely by the increasingly complex interdependencies among the world’s economies, which no longer recognize political, commercial, geologic, or technological borders as barriers. The line between domestic and foreign events has been blurred by the impact of external forces ranging from diseases like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) to technological developments like Chat. Indeed, technology has tended to transcend borders, crossing them and turning them into obstacles to progress.

In this type of international world, a nuanced and multilateral approach requires the flexible application of a variety of diplomatic instruments, either in solo or in unison with other countries, to influence positively or negatively, the actions of other state actors and non-state actors, to achieve national interest goals. This type of environment places emphasis on all operative aspects of diplomacy, one of which is its consular component. With the use of force between states more and more restricted as a policy option in the international system, alternative diplomatic options must be sought.