About Author
PhD in Political Science
Doctor/ Ph.D. member of the INSTITUT DE DIPLOMATIE PUBLIQUE
There has been a fundamental change in the way interstate relations are conducted in modern times. The nature and working of diplomacy has undergone significant changes over the last few decades. Traditionally, diplomacy was managed by professionally trained elite groups of functionaries operating at state-to-state level through Track-One process, which usually ranged from official and non-coercive measures such as good offices, facilitation, mediation and peace keeping to more coercive measures like power-mediation, sanctions, peace-enforcement and arbitration (Reimann 2004). However, in the contemporary world, management of inter-state and international relations has expanded to include a number of new forms of diplomacy in which multilateral and non-state agencies, groups, think-tanks and private institutions have come to play a very important role in the conduct of relations and influence the issues of larger concern to the global society. Among these new levels of diplomacy,“Track-Two Diplomacy”(also written as track-two diplomacy, Track-II diplomacy, and second track diplomacy) has emerged as a significant factor in terms of the role it has played, in recent times, to supplement the official diplomacy.
Track-Two diplomacy has been defined as unofficial peace initiative led by think tanks, former bureaucrats, retired senior military officials, senior journalists, prominent academics and other influential citizens who have capacity to influence the public opinion, with three important objectives-resolutions of conflicts, building confidence and economic cooperation between the rival parties and thereby reducing the trust deficit. Track …