By Bona Bol Biar Wel
“Diplomacy is the art of communicating and negotiating with international organizations or other countries for mutually beneficial results as well as maintaining peaceful relations.”
It is actually a critical tool for impacting international relations as it plays an integral role in terms of intercountry interactions. Theoretically, diplomacy can be defined as managing ties between states.
This can be through peaceful means that involve either communication, negotiation, or cooperation. Diplomats are trained to carry out these tasks in representing their respective countries’ interests.
Now, what is it from the perspective of South Sudanese? Thus, the role of diplomatic missions overseas and what is in the lens and the perspective of South Sudanese is to tie good and reliable relationships with those countries.
In the meantime, it is true that South Sudan has deployed a huge diplomatic mission overseas with the aims referred to in the above definition and importance mentioned in paragraph two with apostrophes and the third paragraph.
However, if one may ask, are these huge South Sudan missions overseas following their roles and responsibilities? Others will admit it, and others with experiences will negate it. It is absolutely true that more South Sudan missions abroad are doing nothing. Yes, they are doing no diplomatic missions in the interest of South Sudan. this is because of many reasons specifically blamed on untrained huge mission staff who got their way abroad because of who they know but not what they know about international relations prospects. The other reason is the delay of overseas mission staff arrears for a long time, as such a few of them will not be able to get data means to assist their own country who dispatched them abroad for r that purposes.
The other reason that hinders diplomatic missions is that diplomacy is an ever-evolving field facing a number of challenges and trends in the contemporary international ⁹arena. One of the major trends that have irrevocably impacted diplomacy is the growth of nationalism. Other countries try to be conservative. As such, they avoid being open to other countries for many reasons believed to be cultural, economic, and social principles tied to their nationhood waists and writs.
Therefore, as a person with principles and expertise in this field, I would advise a country like South Sudan with economic regression and hardship to immediately scale down huge missions overseas with no give-back to the country and propose a few missions overseas to save a few coins for other purposes and avoid blames.
In addition, to have only a few missions like in Europe, they should have three missions with consuls in other countries, if need be, in America only 2 to 3 and representatives appointed from our residing diaspora therein, in Africa and Asia the same thing.
This is because there is no reason to keep huge missions with no clear benefits and roles to their own country overseas.