What does diplomacy mean? Have we long forgotten the ability to do this? Thoughts of a world citizen & orientalist

 

Opinions are currently divided into East and West, Europe and Russia, Europe and the Orient, and the West and China, and I am amazed at how much diplomacy and the necessary skills have fallen by the wayside.

Isn't it also because our decision-makers in politics and business have forgotten or never learned how to understand opposing cultures and reach compromises?

We are caught in a spiral of emotions and don't understand other cultures. Where else do all these phobias come from?

Islam phobia, Russian phobia, Chinese phobia, African phobia, Israel phobia (Inch. Rothschild & Co.), USA phobia,…

Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine is to be condemned, but in my opinion, not much has been attempted diplomatically to find a real compromise that demands something from both sides.

What speaks, e.g., Against a neutral Ukraine under a UN mandate as a buffer between East and West?

Through my oriental studies, I have dealt a lot with Islam, the Orient, and foreign cultures as far away as Central Asia and China. Out of curiosity, to understand the other, the foreign, and to find a middle ground in dealing with these cultures. But that also means no demonization or glorification of them.

Anyone who has lived as a student or professionally as a German in the Orient or in Asia knows the feeling of being foreign there. Still, you also learn to put yourself in the other culture and, if necessary, see certain western things differently. After 3-4 weeks in such a country, you have acclimatized and swam with the respective culture's flow. Some find it easier; others miss their Wienerschnitzel and egg salad at 45 degrees in the shade.

For example, one of my personal culture shocks was when I flew to Iran on September 12, 2001, for a 5-week language course, one day after 9/11 and had a great time there, spoke to many people, and enjoyed the hospitality of a foreign culture without the excited media frenzy that went off in parallel in the West after 9/11.

And when I came back, I landed in Munich, and the Oktoberfest was in full swing for the first time, I was ashamed of all the drunk western tourists I saw at the airport, and I could understand how irritating this western culture must be for an oriental coming to the West for the first time I hadn't seen drunks on the streets in Iran or fat women in miniskirts bawling. Certainly, there is also EVERYTHING in Iran, but more covertly and elegantly, behind closed doors. That's how it is in the Orient and Asia, and you must find out first. ;-)

As Huntington wrote in his book: "Clash of Civilizations" in the late 90s (which I never read, lol), the biggest challenges in the next few years will be the fight for resources and the cooperation between the USA, Europe, and Russia, Africa, Middle East, India, and China.

A lot has been missed here in recent years regarding dialogue and building real friendships between politicians and business bosses since only economic interests were in the foreground and how you can trick and take advantage of each other. The West, the East, China vs. Africa, the USA vs. China, China vs. the USA, etc.

The last 7/8 months of the war in Ukraine were just a battle of materials, but it didn't do anything, except that we'll have a nuclear war in 1-2 months or freeze in Europe in winter, and the economy will hit the wall, and then you Russians invade. Then we can stick against the tanks on the street and dance a lot; then we'll get warm too.

The seven major nations of the world should have immediately all sat down at the table with Putin and negotiated with him as one, but that was of no interest to the world community, just as they stuck their heads in the sand with the Yemen conflict. If the Saudis are supposed to spend $200 million a month on the war, whoever dies there is far away from Europe.

When it comes to diplomacy and compromises, both sides always have to move, and anyone who has got to know foreign cultures will understand what they say when they talk about the “arrogance of the West.” Are we happier from consumption and smartphones than someone in Tahiti or Thailand? Do we still live in the west, or do we only work for the terraced house, the two children, the SUV in the garage, and two vacations per year?

What is right and what is wrong?

Why are there so many cultures and diversity in the world, and why should the West always be right about everything?

Rather, I find that each geographic region has the culture & religion that is right for it. Why can't we just let China be China, the Orient Orient, the West West, Russia Russia, and Africa Africa and still do something together?

Marco Polo, at least that's how I imagine it, or all other travelers like Adam Olearius, J.B. Tavernier, Engelbert Kampfer, Magellan, James Cook, etc. pp., all learned and discovered foreign cultures and adapted themselves there to learn from them, to discuss with them and to enter into dialogue. Otherwise, you would have had no chance at the court of Kubilai Khan, the Persian Shah, with the Indians or the Emperor of China and quickly lost a head.

For years we have put our economic interests, getting to know and understand other cultures and entering into dialogue with them, in the foreground, and we are now surprised when we have leaders who are incapable of diplomacy and dialogue. You didn't learn it, as did all those who don't understand this article but still want to have a say.

The way we are currently acting, you can only act if you have a superior weapon from space, with which you can easily wipe out the other party without harming yourself. In the nuclear age on earth, where everyone has nuclear bombs, that is pure suicide or stupid arrogance, and we will all be the losers; yes, we are already in Europe economically because we have prioritized sanctions and escalation instead of dialogue and diplomacy.

We in the West have become moralizing, unrepentant teenagers who have never experienced war on their own bodies but have 100,000 followers on Instagram and can still rest in a wealth bubble.

When the lights and electricity go out in Europe, the internet no longer works, and we have street fights over water & food like in Y - the Last Man or Walking Dead, then maybe we wake up, but then we understand how it could come. Do we need this learning, then? So I personally can do without it.

Why has politics become so fed up and lazy to do real diplomacy with all the world's peoples and Russia?

A CEO of a big corporation would certainly negotiate for weeks and do everything possible to land a large order. Talking a lot to move towards each other and, in the end, having a solution for both sides is diplomacy and leads to successful business deals.

Anyone who just insists on their point of view does not sell anything in sales and is the death of every company.

What are we waiting for?

Eventually, this current behavior will result in Europe falling off economically, and sooner or later, we will be dependent on or economically overwhelmed by India, China, Central Asia, Africa, and Russia. Maybe not in 5 years, but certainly in 10-15.

Yes, even I, as a small HR consultant, have been doing 80% business abroad for four years and only 20% with the DACH region.

Why?

Because international business partners are often quicker and more decisive in starting and doing something, you want to get ahead in business and need the right people quickly. In Germany and Austria, the first thing to do is analyze and debate, and then the train has long since left.

Diplomacy must become socially acceptable again, and we need people who understand this art, get to know other people, present their own point of view, discuss it and ultimately decide on a solution that is acceptable to both sides. This demands sacrifices on both sides, but in the end brings the chance for peace, cultural rapprochement, and understanding. The people are happy, and the economy is booming.

Even if the sentence is hackneyed: For me, all cultures are right in their own way and have a right to exist. But coexistence is only possible through dialogue and not through war and the moralizing arrogance of the West. If we're not willing to try, we haven't learned anything from World War 2, and we are a dumb species in space that deserves to have Earth blown up by aliens because it's in the way of an intergalactic highway. :-)

With this in mind, I wish you a nice weekend from Vienna

Thomas Zahlten

picture source: Mengli Giray and Bayezit from Alan Mikhail: God's Shadow, Faber & Faber, UK 2020