Changes in the Practice of Diplomacy, 2000–2020: Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs

This article examines the impact of changes to the practice of international diplomacy in the first two decades of the 21st century on Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, as the principal actor in Ireland’s diplomacy and foreign policy. These global changes could be categorised under three headings: actors, issues and systems. Interviews were conducted with serving Irish dip- lomats to obtain \ their insights on, and assessments of, the increased com- plexity and widening scope of Irish diplomacy. It was found that the DFA was strongly influenced during the period 2000–2020 by international trends in the practice of diplomacy, including the proliferation of state and non- state actors conducting international relations, and the blurring of the dis- tinction between foreign and domestic policies. From an operational perspective, developments in information and communications technology and the rise of public diplomacy also had a major impact. A further key development in the Irish case was the significant growth in the size of the department in respect of both the number of missions and the number of staff. Over the twenty-year period under review, the department was required to adapt to both the evolving international context and to major internal organisational change.