New diplomacy: international affairs in the modern age

A book on international relations published in 1940 would not have included the following terms: Nuclear War; Cold War; Détente: United Nations; NATO: Warsaw Pact; European Community; Organization of African Unity: Foreign Aid; Third World; North-South Relations; OPEC; Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles; Mutual Assured Destruc tion. There would have been little reference to "human rights" as a subject of international politics. Diplomacy would have been discussed in a predominantly European context. The United States would have been the theme of a relatively marginal chapter, emphasizing its de tachment.

The proliferation of new concepts and the appearance of different alignments and power balances remind us of the speed with which the international spectacle has been transformed in a single generation. There have been so many upheavals in the international system that diplomacy reels under the shock of change. Negotiation, which used to be protected by privacy, is now exposed to public scrutiny and debate. International conflicts and military operations are enacted on television screens, with massive impact on public opinion. The col lapse of reticence has had a revolutionary and, on the whole, inhibiting effect on the pursuit of agreements.