Defence Diplomacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Defence Diplomacy - Essay Example Prior to doing so, however, it is necessary to commence with a definition of the terms, such as would frame our understanding of it componential elements and implications: "To provide forces to meet the varied activities undertaken by the MOD to dispel hostility, build and maintain trust and assist in the development of democratically accountable armed forces, thereby making a significant contribution to conflict prevention and resolution."1 In accordance with the above cited definition, the importance of Defence Diplomacy within the context of international and inter-state relations may be affirmed. Quite simply stated, the exigencies of defence diplomacy emanate from the fact that it serves both to solidify inter-state defence relations and, in optimal situations, for the negation of nascent military/security threats. As Aldrich (1994) contends the very nature of the twentieth century as the bloodiest and most violent the world had ever witnessed, led to the evolution of defence diplomacy. World War I, followed just two decades later by World War II, left millions dead, cities and countries destroyed, economies shattered and civilisations in ruin. The horrors of these two wars, not to mention their cost, underscored the importance of diplomacy as a preventative strategy and defence diplomacy as a national security imperative. In other words, defence diplomacy is the by-product of incalculably violent and insupportable, protracted warfare. Within the context of the aforementioned, diplomatic missions proliferated and assumed reciprocal, voluntary form. These mission came to embrace a military, more specifically, a defence purpose and as such, the spread of diplomatic missions implied the parallel proliferation of defence attaches offices. These offices, representing a country's military, its Armed Forces abroad, soon evolved into an integral component, not just of military defence but, of Military Intelligent Services. As such, they did not simply function as the purveyors of defence and military-related information but acted in such a way so as to maintain national security interests and to fortify the represented state's international military alliances. The importance of Defence Diplomacy and, by association, the institution of the Defence Attach, continued to expand from inception onwards. On the international level, the Cold War most certainly established and promoted the importance of the said institution. The value of the said institution directly derived from the importance of national defence and national security interests and, accordingly, within the context of an ever connected and interrelated world, has increased. Within the geographic parameters of the Arab Middle East, Defence Diplomacy assumed unique importance. As recent events, if not those of the past five decades, have illustrated, the region is subject to numerous threats, many of which have the potential to function as regime destabilisers. The implication here is that, just as did other countries and regions, Arab nations recognised the exigencies of Defence Diplomacy and accordingly, ensured the evolution of the institution of the Defence Attach within the context of the Military Intelligence Directorate. In so doing, Arab nations effectively expanded the range of the mechanisms and instruments they deployed for