Far from being rendered irrelevant by technological progress, where governments can communicate with one another directly on a need-to basis, diplomacy has become an increasingly critical instrument in an age of interdependence and globalization.
Responding to the ever-changing world around it, diplomacy has evolved and adopted new tools and techniques to respond to the new demands and expectations.
The numbers and types of actors have multiplied, from governments to national firms, multinational corporations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and regional and intergovernmental organizations.