No 9, Issue 2 
How the Increased Destructive Power of Man-Made Threats and Attendant Consequences Could End the Continuum of the Growing Importance of Diplomacy
Tom JOHANSMEYER
Pages 5-19
Abstract
The threats mankind faces have grown profoundly since the dawn of diplomacy 600 years ago. Through this period, the importance of diplomacy has grown in lockstep with the complexity of society and the escalation of threats mankind poses to itself. However, the scale and scope of how humanity can damage itself – from nuclear war to climate change – has become so profound that the failure of diplomacy could lead to its future irrelevance. This article explores the factors that led to increased societal complexity through the evolution of modern diplomacy and how that escalation forms a continuum of ongoing increasing importance of diplomacy. Specifically, the dynamic means that diplomacy is never more important than it is at the current day. However, the rapid escalation of threats to mankind’s existence through the ongoing growth of societal complexity could terminate the continuum, or at least set it back for centuries.
Keywords
diplomacy, risk management, future of diplomacy, technology, PEST
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