Diplomacy and Cosmopolitanism in a Globalized World

Due to the fact that there is a new world culture, with increasing connections of varied local cultures, the characteristics of the 21st century seem to be globalization, seen as “a matter of increasing long-distance interconnectedness, at least across national boundaries, preferably between continents as well” (Hannerz, 1996, p. 17). However, despite this tendency towards globalization, there are still some communities who have no contacts even within the same country (different tribes from an African country, for example) or countries which are isolated due to political doctrine (North Korea, for example), where contact with the rest of the world is not possible. The link depends on the place and time: the strength of the communist era in Eastern Europe compared to the openness of nowadays, for example, or the lack of interconnectedness in the Third World in the 21st century due to the financial situation while in the same period of time, in developed countries, globalization is no longer theory, but everyday life (consumer goods coming from the other side of the world, tourists, exchange programmes, etc.). In recent times, people everywhere have cultivated links and relationships to people and places in other countries and on other continents, especially in a political context. “Globalization creates First Worlds in the Third Worlds and Third Worlds in the First World” (Parameswaran, 2008, p. 116). The diplomat is one of the strangers who is playing an important and increasing role in globalizing the world. The diplomats’ status and challenges are analysed through the theories of Hannerz, Simmel, Luckmann, and Stonequist.