Diplomacy is a ‘delicate dance of butterflies’
The intricacy of ethnic and national interrelations are complex, deep-rooted
The diplomatic spat between Canada and Saudi Arabia may have farreaching consequences for Canada, including a wide swath of Canadians citizens. With Saudi Arabia expelling our ambassador, recalling their own, and pulling out their assets from financial institutions — as well as their students from our universities — the economic repercussions could be widespread, injurious, and longlasting.
Although Canadians are in agreement with the criticisms of the Saudi government and their methods of meting out justice for various “crimes” against their state, the recent, open and public criticisms of their regime transgressed basic, acceptable, diplomatic norms. For this diplomatic faux pas, Canada will suffer repercussions today and, perhaps, for years to come.
We should also take note that the world, diplomatic core has not rushed to Canada’s defence because of our “Tweet Diplomacy” which has insulted Saudi Arabia and which appears to have become the newest approach to modern-day foreign affairs.
The basic set of rules guiding acceptable, international diplomacy has suddenly been breached and replaced by social media as an instantaneous, “fly-by-wire” communication to garner wider support of condemnation against another sovereign state. Such disapprobation may be socially well-intentioned, but the fervent repercussions and political backlash should have been anticipated.
This action had every intimation of modern-day technology and “minute-by-minute politics” driven by social-media elite who thrive on second-by-second texts made without any cautious, sober, second-thought or elucidated from the wisdom of elder statesmen who have years of field experience in such delicate,
international matters.
After the incident Trudeau had no other option than to back those who condemned Riyadh and their harsh ways. Criticizing the social-media elite and their social-media outbursts was not a viable option. Either way — upbraiding them for a serious, diplomatic faux pas — our PM was damned from the outset.
We must remember that diplomacy is a “delicate dance of butterflies” and to publicly and openly condemn any foreign government — however distasteful — is risky, at best. In this most recent incident, we have seen the worst, possible outcome and, in the past, major wars have begun from less-serious statements. Diplomacy, therefore, should be left to professional diplomats, not to background aides using smartphones to denounce and humiliate foreign powers and their policies.
When it comes to human rights, Canadians have always “stood tall and firm” in their ways and beliefs but we must also learn “when,” “where” and, especially, “how” disapprobation must be properly delivered on the international stage.
Shouting loudly from a soap box in Hyde Park is how it was done in the past, but today we must approach issues in more delicate ways. It may take longer, but it will achieve the desired result with less ill will, political anguish and economic backlash.
Canada may be the best country in the world, but antagonizing friends and allies by publicly condemning foreign states is a questionable method with unforeseen political outcomes. For Saudi Arabia and its European and Asian neighbours, we must remember that their countries existed thousands of years before North America was even discovered. The complexity and intricacy of ethnic and national interrelations are far more complex than most Canadians can realize without years of experience of living in these lands.
Lecturing, shaming, berating, belittling, chiding, rebuking, reprimanding, scolding, humiliating, denouncing, demanding or threatening them will have as much effect as snapping one’s fingers for obeisance, and will simply result in stiff-backed resistance. We cannot realistically expect thousands of years of deep-seated traditions to dissipate overnight.
Only time and gradual, elemental, internal adjustments guided by modifications in values and outdated attitudes will change in a world developed over thousands of years and governed by hundreds of antipathetic, ethnic enclaves, as opposed to the new continent of North America which developed over the last 400 years with only minor, internal conflicts of cultures, languages, ways of life and traditions.
For persons born in North America, we often underestimate the tenacious and abrasive frictions of culture, language, religion, and tradition which fracture every corner of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia where only prudent tolerance, understanding, and patient forbearance will bring about the outcomes the West so badly desires.