Diplomacy is the art of navigating between nations, organizations and other groups to bring about mutually beneficial solutions to conflict. It conducts the passages from protest to menace, from dialogue to negotiation, from ultimatum to reprisal, and ultimately to war’s termination. It tends the coalitions that deter war, and it contrives its termination, and it builds, maintains, and sustains peace and the expanded cooperation that follows it.
Diplomacy also includes formal arbitrations and mediations aimed at settling international disputes – often, though not always, with the assistance of an outsider able to bring impartiality to the proceedings. In addition, diplomacy involves the creation and maintenance of diplomatic missions, or embassies, that act as the centers of contact between nations and between countries and other international entities.
Diplomacy reaches back as far as civilisation itself, and it is possible that there was a continuous, structured flow of communication between neighbouring civilisations even before recorded history began. But the emergence of modern diplomacy as an institution has been closely linked to the rise of nationalism and empire building. The need for global cooperation increased, as did the need to resolve large-scale conflicts that required a higher level of expertise than was available at home. As a result, more than 7,000 diplomatic missions were established globally by the end of the Cold War, and most of them were headed by ambassadors or ministers plenipotentiary. In addition, several specialised international organisations and a number of regional entities received and sent envoys of ambassadorial rank.