Rethinking Diplomacy and Islam

The evolving interaction between Islam and politics has brought to fore the necessity of rethinking the nature and goals of diplomacy in Islam. Here, I will examine the nature of democracy, its history in Islam, and its present situation in the Muslim community in general. Diplomacy in its initial context refers to the process of communication between governments through their official agents with the goal of furthering international cooperation. Through time it came to include noncooperative elements such as propaganda, subversion, manipulation, and economic pressure which were viewed as techniques of foreign policy affecting the international system. Diplomacy is still considered as intellectual politics which serves as the best alternative to physical conflict.