OADI 2305 - Networks and Diplomacy (Lecture)

***UPDATED for 2022/23***

Professional diplomats learn to develop and rely on institutional and personal relational networks, offline and online, to carry out their work in foreign affairs and policy, and to build a career and a reputation. This course explores the nature, complexity and management (both organizational and individual) of such diplomatic networks that constitute forms of personal and professional social capital. It starts by providing a basic theoretical overview on network analysis and main diplomatic practices (representation, negotiation and communication). The course invites diplomats and former diplomats as guest speakers to share their experience with respect to this dimension of their practice.
Learning Outcomes

1. Technical introduction to network analysis

2. Theoretical reasoning about diplomacy and networking

3. Role of networking in diplomatic practices

Professional Skills

Network methodology.

Network reasoning in diplomatic practices.

Critical reading of case studies using this methodology and learning from experienced diplomats.

Christian LEQUESNE,Emmanuel LAZEGA
Cours magistral seul
English
- In Class Presence: 24 hours a semester

- Reading and Preparation for Class: 24 hours a semester

- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 6 hours a semester

- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 15 hours a semester

None
Autumn 2022-2023
(i) Midterm : Individual 3-page critical summary of a book or academic paper on a topic dealt with in class, for Week 7.

(ii) Final: Group work - Team preparation of interviews of guest diplomats for weeks 7 to 12: presentation, synthesis and evaluation of the session. A critical essay due by the end of the semester. Teams of 4 students will write a 10 pages essay. Topics follow the main concepts presented in the course. Students team up by themselves, choose a topic to research and seek approval for this choice by week 3.

(iii) Grading weights: Midterm paper summary: 30%. Group preparation of guest sessions and critical essay: 60%. Individual, group, participation: 10%.

2. Lazega, E. (2020), Networks and Neo-Structural Sociology, in R.Light & J.Moody (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Social Networks, Oxford University Press
1. « Centrality, cohesion and structural equivalence in networks » (pdf available on the moodle)
3. Lequesne, C.ed (2022) Ministries of Foreign Affairs in the World. Actors of State Diplomacy.
4. Neumann, I (2014) Inside a European Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cornell University Press.