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Track II diplomacy or "backchannel diplomacy" is the practice of "non-governmental, informal and unofficial contacts and activities between private citizens or groups of individuals, sometimes called ' non-state actors. It contrasts with track I diplomacy, which is official, governmental
diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
that occur inside official government channels. However, track two diplomacy is not a substitute replacement for track one diplomacy. Rather, it is there to assist official actors to manage and resolve conflicts by exploring possible solutions derived from the public view and without the requirements of formal
negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement c ...
or bargaining for advantage. In addition, the term ''track 1.5'' diplomacy is used by some analysts to define a situation where official and non-official actors cooperate in
conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abou ...
.


History

In 1981, Joseph V. Montville, then a
U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
employee, coined the phrases Track One and Track Two diplomacy in "Foreign Policy According to Freud", which appeared in ''Foreign Policy'' (Davidson & Montville, 1981). Track One diplomacy was what diplomats did—formal
negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement c ...
s between nations conducted by professional diplomats. Track Two diplomacy referred to conflict resolution efforts by professional non-governmental conflict resolution practitioners and theorists. "Track Two has as its object the reduction or resolution of conflict, within a
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
or between countries, by lowering the anger or tension or fear that exists, through improved
communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
and a better understanding of each other's point of view". The efforts of these conflict resolution professionals, generally operating through
non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s (NGOs) and
universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, arose from the realization by diplomats and others that formal official government-to-government interactions were not necessarily the most effective methods for securing
international cooperation In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal. Definitions Multilateralism, in the form of membership in international institutions, serves to bind powerful nations, discourage u ...
or resolving differences.
Track two diplomacy is unofficial, non-structured interaction. It is always open minded, often altruistic, and ... strategically optimistic, based on best case analysis. Its underlying assumption is that actual or potential conflict can be resolved or eased by appealing to common human capabilities to respond to good will and reasonableness. Scientific and cultural exchanges are examples of track two diplomacy. The problem most political liberals fail to recognize is that reasonable and altruistic interaction with foreign countries cannot be an alternative to traditional track one diplomacy, with its official posturing and its underlying threat of the use of force. Both tracks are necessary for psychological reasons and both need each other.
Montville (Davidson & Montville, 1981) maintains that there are two basic processes in track two diplomacy. The first consists of facilitated
workshops Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...
that bring members of conflicting groups together to develop
personal relationships ''Personal Relationships'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the International Association for Relationship Research. It covers research on all aspects of personal relationships, using method ...
, understand the conflict from the perspective of others, and develop joint strategies for solving the conflict. The second process involves working to shift public opinion: "Here the task is a psychological one which consists of reducing the sense of victim hood of the parties and rehumanizing the image of the adversary". Montville emphasized that Track Two Diplomacy is not a substitute for Track One Diplomacy, but compensates for the constraints imposed on leaders by their people's psychological expectations. Most important, Track Two Diplomacy is intended to provide a bridge or complement official Track One negotiations. Methods for conducting these activities are still evolving as is the thinking around which individuals—representing various roles and functions in
society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...
and government—should be included. Montville points out that "there is no evidence that conflict resolution workshops would work for the principal
political leaders A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
themselves—perhaps because they are too tough or even impervious to the humanizing process". John McDonald (Sep 2003 – Aug 2004) seconds this assumption but feels that it is merely because the leaders are stuck in rigid roles and politically have less access to fluidity than individuals further removed from the top echelon of government(McDonald, Sep 2003 – Aug 2004). In 1986 John McDonald and Diane Bendahmane (1987) produced ''Conflict Resolution: Track Two Diplomacy'', a book that compiled the thoughts of several Track One and Track Two professionals confirming the need for government to support, encourage, and work with Track Two. The Department of State refused to print the book for eighteen months because the Department has a strong defensiveness regarding its right, ability, and authority to conduct conflict resolution. The book was finally published in 1987 and states that
... the official government apparatus for analyzing
international security International security, also called global security is a term which refers to the measures taken by states and international organizations, such as the United Nations, European Union, and others, to ensure mutual survival and safety. These meas ...
issues and designing
foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
has to equip itself to support and benefit from track two diplomacy. As part of the process, government analysts must improve their capabilities to understand how history, society, culture, and psychology interact.
At a special briefing for representatives of non-governmental organizations, the U.S. Department of State's Deputy Director for Political Affairs in the Office of
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
presented a plea for help from NGOs (Paul Sutphin, 2004). Acting under Secretary Colin Powell's initiative and authority, the State Department's Iraqi analysts explained their frustrations in conducting dialogue, developing grassroots relationships, and rebuilding
infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
. Far from admitting that the State Department was limited in its right, ability, and authority to conduct conflict resolution, they admitted that they couldn't build relationships or spend money fast enough to rebuild Iraq in time to appease the Iraqis and needed help to do it. This may not be the ideal situation in terms of NGO and State Department cooperation. "Further Exploration of Track Two Diplomacy" was published in 1991 as an Occasional Paper (McDonald), and as a chapter in ''Timing the De-Escalation of International Conflicts'' (Kriesberg & Thorson, 1991). Moreover, in the same year, "The Arrow and the Olive Branch," which was written as an article in ''The Psychodynamics of International Relations'', Montville adds the third process in track two diplomacy. Aside from previous two processes of facilitating small workshops and influencing public opinion, he claims that the third process is cooperative economic development. Although it may not seem essential to conflict resolution, it is meaningful in the sense that it provides
incentives In general, incentives are anything that persuade a person to alter their behaviour. It is emphasised that incentives matter by the basic law of economists and the laws of behaviour, which state that higher incentives amount to greater levels of ...
, institutional support, and continuity to the political and psychological processes. In 1996 Dr. Louise Diamond and John McDonald published ''Multi-Track Diplomacy: A Systems Approach to Peace''. Since then the model has been more robustly developed and the original second track has been expanded into nine tracks: peacemaking through diplomacy, conflict resolution,
commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...
, personal involvement, learning, advocacy,
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
, funding, information. One of the successful track two dialogue processes can be the
Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;
of 1993 between Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
(PLO), which achieved some remarkable breakthroughs in the Israeli–Palestinian relationship. The contacts began as a track two diplomacy, with an unofficial initiative by a Norwegian
scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
, but had transitioned into track one diplomacy by the time it was finished, finalized with a handshake between Israeli
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Yitzhak Rabin and PLO head Yasser Arafat on the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
lawn. Another example can be the sustained
Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group The Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group is a non-violent conflict resolution group established in 1992 in San Mateo, California. Its first meeting was held in a local neighborhood residence. As of September 2019, the group remained activ ...
which begun in 1992. From 2003 to 2007 it partnered with
Camp Tawonga Camp Tawonga is a 160-acre residential Jewish summer camp located on the middle fork of the Tuolumne River, a few miles west of Yosemite National Park, in the Stanislaus National Forest. The camp operates as a Nonprofit organization, non-profit or ...
to bring hundreds of adults and youth from 50 different towns in
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
and
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
to successfully live and communicate together at the Palestinian-Jewish Family Peacemakers Camp—Oseh Shalom – Sanea al-Salam.Peacemaker Camp 2007
website
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See also

*
Shuttle diplomacy In diplomacy and international relations, shuttle diplomacy is the action of an outside party in serving as an intermediary between (or among) principals in a dispute, without direct principal-to-principal contact. Originally and usually, the proce ...


Citations


General and cited references

* Davidson, W. D., and J. V. Montville, "Foreign Policy According to Freud," ''Foreign Policy'', Vol. 45, Winter 1981–1982. * Diamond, L., & McDonald, J. (1991). ''Multi-Track Diplomacy: A Systems Guide and Analysis''. Iowa Peace Institute. * Diamond, L., & McDonald, J. W. (1996). ''Multi-Track Diplomacy: A Systems Approach to Peace''. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press. * Gelder, M. (2006). ''Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend''. Bauu Institute. * Gopin, M. (2009)
''To Make the Earth Whole: The Art of Citizen Diplomacy in an Age of Religious Militancy''
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. * Kaye, D. D. (2007)

Rand Corporation. * McDonald, J. W., &Bendahmane, D. B. (Eds.). (1987). ''Conflict Resolution: Track Two Diplomacy''. Foreign Service Institute, US Dept. of State. * McDonald, J. W. (1991). "Further exploration of track two diplomacy." ''Timing the De-escalation of International Conflicts'', 201–220. * Montville, J. (1991). "Track Two Diplomacy: The Arrow and the Olive Branch." ''The Psychodynamics of International Relations, 2''. * Montville, J. V. (2006). "Track two diplomacy: The work of healing history." ''Whitehead J. Dipl. & Int'l Rel., 7'', 15. * Stone, D. (2011). "The ASEAN-ISIS network: interpretive communities, informal diplomacy and discourses of region." ''Minerva, 49''(2), 241–262. * Sutphin, P. (2004). Deputy Director for Political Affairs, Office of Iraq, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs briefing on: The Transition of Power in Iraq. 29 Jul 2004. Washington, DC: US Department of State. *Homans, C. (2011)
Track II Diplomacy: A Short History
Foreign Policy.


External links


"Track II (Citizen) Diplomacy"
at The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project
Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy
{{Authority control Types of diplomacy