Then there is the issue of whether diplomacy is in an overall decline because of the inclusion of new international actors. It is clear that the role of ambassadors and traditional diplomatic activities has weakened. On the other hand, modern diplomatic practices encompass wider areas, and often involve new international actors and agencies. These can be, as mentioned NGOs facilitating negotiations or unofficial diplomats secretly preparing the ground for talks. In other words, rather than a decline of diplomacy in general, what has occurred is a widening of its sphere and an expansion of the ways in which it is conducted
In conclusion, the distinction between old and new diplomacy is often uncertain. Sofer criticizes the distinction as both"simplistic and inaccurate(1988: 195); Nicolson, early in the debate, stressed that diplomatic principles and methods had not fundamentally changed but rather adapted to an