traditional diplomacy
Both diplomacy and international relations are European constructs, products of the specific contingencies of European history. They dominate global governance not because they are universal concepts, but because of the domination firstly of European powers and then the U.S. As U.S. hegemony declines and a more genuinely multipolar world system emerges, will alternative approaches to diplomacy and global governance also emerge?
![](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/beltandroad_0.jpg?itok=xrkp8CWw)
Shaun Riordan asks, "As U.S. hegemony declines and a more genuinely multipolar world system emerges, will alternative approaches to diplomacy and global governance also emerge?"
![Image courtesy of Krokodyl via Wikimedia Commons](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/rsz_1024px-us_diplomatic_reg_3210.jpg?itok=ph-pxDHe)
Shaun Riordan revisits his earlier blog post and attempts to quantify what qualifies as diplomatic behavior.
![Diplomacy Wordle](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/rsz_screen_shot_2017-06-30_at_124230_pm.png?itok=JISRnNGj)
Katharina Höne challenges Shaun Riordan's recent blog about the threat of "new diplomacies".
![Image courtesy of Nick Youngson via The Blue Diamond Gallery Diplomacy in Scrabble Tiles](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/rsz_diplomacy.jpg?itok=RaWB5NnC)
Shaun Riordan on how creating more subsets of diplomacy can lead to confusion about what diplomacy actually is.