In this video, EWI President & CEO Cameron Munter talks about a new direction for diplomacy as the 21st century presents a wide array of new global challenges.

“As we often say at the EastWest Institute, just as wars are too important to be left to the generals, diplomacy is way too important to be left just to the diplomats,” says Munter.

In the 21st century, Munter says, many problems defy simple state-to-state solutions such as refugees, climate change, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity and counterterrorism. “You need to have participation by a number of people and how do you organize that? That’s what we discuss when we get together and talk about diplomacy.”

On March 15-17 in West Sussex, the EastWest Institute collaborated with UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Wilton Park to organize a series of in-depth exploration of this new diplomacy. The expert exchange, called “New Diplomacy”, brought together 50 practitioners to delve into new approaches to decentralized diplomacy. Among the participants were senior diplomats, representatives from business, media, foundations, multilateral and regional bodies, academia, alumni networks and diaspora.

“I’m very pleased that the EastWest Institute can be the leader in pushing for the new diplomacy, pulling together different people and different types of institutions, so that when we address problems, we’re not doing it alone,” notes Munter.

The full report by Wilton Park can be accessed here.