Commercial diplomacy

Commercial diplomacy is diplomacy that focuses on development of business between two countries.[1][2] It aims at generating commercial gains in the form of trade and inward and outward investment by means of business and entrepreneurship promotion and facilitation activities in the host country.[3] Commercial diplomacy is pursued with the goal of gaining economic stability, welfare, or competitive advantage.[4]

As a term, "commercial diplomacy" emerged in the second half of the twentieth century (e.g., Joseph, 1965;[5] Corbet, 1972[6]), but the concept certainly existed in previous centuries.[7] In literature the concepts of economic diplomacy and commercial diplomacy are often used interchangeably.[4] Definitions of both concepts vary, and consequently the relationship between them is also described differently. Some authors argue that commercial diplomacy is a subset of economic diplomacy.[8] It is certain, however, that both kinds of diplomacy are "irrevocably intertwined" and thus "distinct [but] obviously closely related to [each other]".[9]

  1. ^ Naray, O. (2008). "Commercial Diplomacy: A Conceptual Overview." Conference paper for the 7th World Conference of TPOs – The Hague, The Netherlands.
  2. ^ Stoddard, Edward (2016-06-08). "Tough times, shifting roles: examining the EU's commercial diplomacy in foreign energy markets". Journal of European Public Policy. 24 (7): 1048–1068. doi:10.1080/13501763.2016.1170190. ISSN 1350-1763. S2CID 156087171.
  3. ^ Ruel, H. J. M. and Visser, R. (2012). "Commercial Diplomats as corporate entrepreneurs: explaining role behavior from an institutional perspective", International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy.
  4. ^ a b Reuvers, S. and Ruel, H. J. M., "Research on Commercial Diplomacy: Review and Implications" in Commercial Diplomacy and International Business: a conceptual and empirical exploration, Ruel, H. J. M., ed. (Advanced series in Management, Emerald, 2012).
  5. ^ Curzon, Gerard. (1965). Multilateral commercial diplomacy; the General agreement on tariffs and trade, and its impact on national commercial policies and techniques. Praeger. OCLC 239350.
  6. ^ Corbet, Hugh (1972). "Australian commercial diplomacy in a new era of negotiation". Australian Outlook. 26 (1): 3–17. doi:10.1080/10357717208444425. ISSN 0004-9913.
  7. ^ Otte, T. G. (2016), ""A Kind of Black Hole"?: Commercial Diplomacy Before 1914", The Foreign Office, Commerce and British Foreign Policy in the Twentieth Century, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 25–68, doi:10.1057/978-1-137-46581-8_2, ISBN 978-1-137-46580-1
  8. ^ Okano-Heijmans, M., and Ruel, H. (2011). "Commerciële diplomatie en internationaal ondernemen: Koopman versus dominee in de nieuwe economische wereldorde[permanent dead link]", International Spectator, 65(9), 463-467.
  9. ^ Berridge, G. J., A Dictionary of Diplomacy (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001): p. 128.