DIPLOMATIC THEORIES OF INTERNTIONAL RELATIONS AND RE-ASSESSING THE CONDUCT OF NIGERIA’S FOREIGN POLICY IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION (Review Completed - Accepted)
Diplomacy does not take place simply between states but wherever people live in different groups. It is argued that the demands for diplomacy, and the need for the insights of diplomatic theory, are on the rise. In contrast to conventional texts which use international relations theories to make sense of what diplomacy and diplomats do, this book explores what diplomacy and diplomats can contribute to the big theoretical and practical debates in international relations today. The paper identifies a diplomatic tradition of international thought premised on the way people live in groups, the differences between intra- and inter-group relations, and the perspectives which those who handle inter-group relations develop about the sorts of international disputes which occur. The study is basically a historical research method relying mainly on secondary sources of data from internet sources, official documents and country websites as the method of data collection. We made use of qualitative-descriptive analysis as our method of data analysis, that is, documentary studies of official document and other materials in analyzing the secondary data. The major purpose of embarking on this research is to reassess the conduct of Nigeria’s foreign policy in the era of globalization vis a vis diplomatic theories of international relations. Thus, we were able to make the following principal findings that, one; the state-centre thrust impeded the repositioning of the conduct of Nigeria’s foreign policy in the era of globalization. Two, that the traditionalist diplomatic posture hindered the achievement of Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives in the age of globalization. On the basis of this, we recommend, one, reforming the diplomatic thrust or posture in order to repositioning the conduct of Nigeria’s foreign policy in the era of globalization. Two restructuring the diplomatic orientation of Nigeria’s Foreign policy towards achieving foreign policy objectives in the age of globalization.
Keywords: Conduct Of Nigerian Foreign Policy And The Age Of Globalization, Diplomatic Theories, Interntional Relations