DIPLOMATIC OUTSOURCING

Lobbying and diplomacy are activities aimed at representing certain interests in front of the decision-makers and the public of a political system; at informing policy-makers and the public about certain policies, specific viewpoints, etc. ; at communicating these issues via formal and informal channels ; at influencing the formulation and implementation of policies ; and at building relationships . Moreover, both rest on persuasion , as diplomats and lobbyists have to convince their counterparts of the importance of their perspective, information and interests.

Yet, diplomacy has long been portrayed as the prerogative of states (and its representatives), engaged in the management of international relations by negotiation and in a peaceful manner . In contrast, lobbying is normally associated with the actions of interest groups, who target policy-makers with a view to influencing policy outcomes and bringing them close to their interests and goals. In recent years, however, the exclusivity of diplomacy as a state domain has been challenged on several fronts: the range of issues has expanded well beyond the immediate military and political dimensions of traditional diplomacy (e.g. environmental diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, etc.); new actors have become to be involved in global governance and active in diplomatic activities; public diplomacy, i.e., the engagement with foreign publics, has acquired a prominent role in the diplomatic efforts of many countries. Similarly, there are many non-state actors who lobby (officially or not) on behalf of a state. This happens either because states have outsourced part of their diplomatic activities by hiring consultancy firms to promote their interests , or because the same non-state actors make the defence of the interests of a third country a central part of their mandate. It thus becomes difficult to clearly distinguish when these non-state actors speak on their behalf or act in cooperation with or as coopted forces for a third country .

The boundaries between lobbying and diplomacy are thus not always clear-cut and can be extremely permeable.

Most countries carry out their diplomatic work thru their respective embassies and missions. They rely on formal structures and bureaucratic procedures commonly associated with state-run diplomacy . Some countries may also rely on ‘diplomatic lobbying’ as a tool of political engagement . Many countries outsource their work to private lobbying firms to protect and promote their foreign policy goals. Lobbyists and diplomats work together in terms of identifying topics, splitting tasks, constructing the message and approaching targets while trying to achieve their common goals. Lobbyists can aid countries by sidestepping the delicate world of diplomatic language and embassy protocol to get right to key decision makers. Many developing countries lack established embassy operations and diplomatic finesse, and frequently need help to get access to key policymakers. Sometimes they need lobbyists to lead their entire effort. Larger nations, meanwhile, seek extra help in achieving specific objectives, or to press their cases in ways that an embassy staffer, or even ambassador, would shy away from attempting. It can be less expensive to outsource work to a lobbying firm than pay the costs associated with hiring eight or 10 full-time embassy employees