Embassy Buildings: Fortresses or Bazaars?

2012-09-19T19:31:52Z

The recent attacks on diplomatic missions in the Middle East have brought into focus the discussion on embassies and the tension between their function and protection. It reminds me of sessions in the early 1990s when I assisted young Maltese architectural students to design an ideal embassy for a pan-European architectural competition. They found my explanation of diplomacy as a profession that builds bridges between nations through engagement and dialogue counter-intuitive. Most embassies are surrounded by high walls and guarded by heavily armed soldiers. They are far from open and inviting spaces. The embassy architecture symbolises in physical form the tension in the function of diplomacy as well as tensions in global politics.

Since the 1990s, especially after 9/11, the situation has deteriorated. Today, embassies, in particular US embassies, are fortresses. Walls around them are higher, although not high enough to protect them from attack. As the former US ambassador Edward P. Djerejian said ‘we built a 16-foot wall, but there is such a thing as a 17-foot ladder.’ The numbers of security guards in the US embassies alone have multiplied to 40.000 worldwide.

US diplomats are uneasy about this ‘embassy fortress’ that makes their job of engaging with locals more difficult. With more diversified politics, diplomats cannot just maintain relations with local government officias. They have to engage with people in all walks of life, including journalists, business people, and university professors. In a sobering twist of fate, the day after he was killed, the US ambassador in Bengazi was supposed to go to the hospital and discuss a new programme for emergency medicine with Libyan doctors.

Faced with the paradox of needing to engage while maintaining security, some countries use eDiplomacy intensively. It is not surprising that the USA and the UK, countries with the highest security risks, are among the most advanced users of eDiplomacy. What cannot be done in the local streets, bars, and bazaars because of security risks, eDiplomats try to do on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. The problem is that in societies such as Libya, where diplomacy is most needed, social contacts over tea and coffee matter more than posts on Facebook or Twitter.

Physical embassies will remain important in the Internet era. Embassy architects will be even more challenged to design an engaging and communicative function of diplomacy, while factoring in the need to secure the building from potential attack.

Can we imagine a day when embassies will be located at local bazaars, where people mingle and interact freely? It would certainly signal a return to diplomacy’s original and core function.

In the meantime, as embassy architects try to combine a fortress and a bazaar in one building, I wonder whether it is, in fact, a case of ‘mission impossible’?

(Photo © DR)

Opinions voiced by Global Minds do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Global Journal.

Read the original article on Diplo.

5 Questions to Jovan Kurbalija

2012-06-08T12:35:28Z

Diplofoundation is a non-profit organization created in 2003 and based in Malta, unique in its vision of diplomacy as a field in need of greater inclusiveness through use of the internet. Its most emblematic achievement could very well be the creation of the first Virtual Embassy, in 2007, for the Maldives. Dr. Jovan Kurbalija, a former Yugoslavian diplomat and Diplofoundation’s founding director, talks about his organization and its future challenges.

What does Diplofoundation do?

Our main mission, to make diplomacy more inclusive and efficient and to help small states, is methodologically supported by e-tools. In some cases, like that of small island states, this is the only way to deliver continuous training for diplomats. It’s another reason why Diplo has alumni from 187 states, and we are considered, uno cially, as the diplomatic academy of small island states. Our focus on e-tools came out of practical necessity: we started Diplo in Malta, which is geographically isolated, so the only way to be present in international discussion was through e-tools. In the early 1990s we began turning our geographical disadvantage into conceptual advantage, and Diplo became the leading institution in e-diplomacy and use of e-tools both in training and practical diplomatic activities.

You’re contributing to the development of the so-called “cyber-diplomat.” What does being a diplomat of the Internet age entail?

What we are essentially trying to do is to train and equip diplomats with the necessary skills to use e-tools. This is to make them aware, fi rst of all, of social media and its power. Secondly, this makes them aware of the importance of the negotiation about Internet governance. We are adding an ‘e-layer’ to the core values of diplomacy –negotiation and human contact– through the use of social media and other tools.

www.diplomacy.edu

To read the full interview, order a copy of the magazine

by Global Journal

theglobaljournal.net: Latest activities of group Jovan Kurbalija

Embassy Buildings: Fortresses or Bazaars?

5 Questions to Jovan Kurbalija