Diplomacy and international nongovernmental organizations : a study of the Pacific economic cooperation movement

Abstract

The traditional conception of diplomacy as an activity involving only official state agents is unable to account for the growing importance of unofficial diplomatic actors such as international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). The link between diplomacy and INGOs is examined in this dissertation by assessing the activities of three groups commonly cited as the leading components of the Pacific economic cooperation movement: the scholarly Pacific Trade and Development Conference (PAFTAD); the business-oriented Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) ; and the predominantly tripartite academic, business, state - Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (PECC). The promotion by PAFTAD, PBEC and PECC of improved forms of regional cooperation, communication and consultation · on economic issues has placed numerous constraints upon state action, such as those arising from attitude changes and international pluralism in policy development and implementation. However, the dominant state response to the emergence of these politically significant INGOs has been the pursuit of symbiotic state-INGO relationships, thereby confirming the validity of conceptualizing PAFTAD, PBEC and PECC as international and diplomatic actors. Following the example set by the Institute of Pacific Relations, each of these organizations has contributed to the diplomatic framework of the Pacific Basin by performing and facilitating the functions o f representation, information and communication. n addition, the participation of unofficial state official s in the consensual PECC process has allowed this forum to facilitate the function of negotiation and to act as a direct supplement to official multilateral fora such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Like PAFTAD, PECC has also distinguished itself by being able to accommodate participants from a variety of cultural, economic and political systems, including those found , In Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan and the Soviet Union. The diplomatic utility of PAFTAD, PBEC and PECC has been recognized by numerous state authorities through the provision of funding, technical assistance, explicit and implicit support for national participation, and the granting of access to policy-makers. In order to retain their status as international actors, these INGOs must continue to demonstrate the utility of a nongovernmental approach to regional diplomacy. State support and involvement are desired by any INGO seeking to play a role in regional economic relations; state control is not. While PAFTAD has recently consolidated its role as the research wing of the cooperation movement, PBEC and PECC are at risk as a result of organizational failures and successes respectively.