A Study Of Parliamentary Diplomacy

In the globalized world, various new forms of diplomacy are on the rise, and diplomacy is characterized by multiple forms and all-dimensional development. The rise of parliamentary diplomacy is a reflection of important changes taking place in the field of diplomacy. From state-to-state relations to contacts between ordinary peoples, from topics of"high politics"such as war and peace to economic, social and cultural topics of"low politics", from bilateral relations between two states to global issues like climate change, environmental pollution and drugs trafficking, parliamentary diplomacy assumes an increasingly important and irreplaceable role, and shakes the traditional diplomacy model in which the governments of sovereign states play a central role. Under this circumstance, the study of parliamentary diplomacy is not only necessary but also pressing.This dissertation has an in-depth analysis of the concept, development course, characteristics, methods of parliamentary diplomacy, as well as the relationship between parliamentary diplomacy and governmental diplomacy. As the title of the dissertation"A Study of Parliamentary Diplomacy: An Analysis With the National People's Congress of China As Its Focus"indicates, the research is mainly centered on an in-depth analysis of the parliamentary diplomacy carried out by the National People's Congress of China. Structurally speaking, the dissertation is divided into two parts: Part I is a general study of parliamentary diplomacy, which sums up its general rules and characteristics, and Part II goes on to focus on the analysis of parliamentary diplomacy in China. The dissertation consists of five chapters and the conclusion part as follows:Chapter one is"the Introduction". Its main task is to put forward the question to be answered and to establish the approaches of analysis. It introduces the reason and significance of this research, definitions of main concepts such as parliamentary diplomacy, parliament, diplomacy, and diplomatic powers of parliaments, etc., literature review of study on parliamentary diplomacy, research methods and analysis approaches, and main innovations and shortcomings. Chapter two is"Parliamentary Diplomacy from Theoretical Perspectives". The main task of this chapter is to briefly review the development course of parliamentary diplomacy by tracing back to its origin, to carry out a theoretical analysis of parliamentary diplomacy, to analyze the driving causes of parliamentary diplomacy by trying to establish a simplified model to explain the reason why parliamentary diplomacy is becoming increasingly active, to briefly introduce the methods and topics of parliamentary diplomacy, etc.Chapter three is"Parliamentary Diplomacy Within a State". This chapter studies the differences and connections among parliamentary diplomacy, diplomacy of political parties, public diplomacy, people-to-people diplomacy and summit diplomacy, especially the interactions between parliamentary diplomacy and governmental diplomacy, summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of parliamentary diplomacy, and analyzes and comments on the role of parliamentary diplomacy within a state. In order to deepen the understanding of parliamentary diplomacy, this chapter also conducts a case study of the congressional diplomacy in the United States of America and summarizes its main forms, mechanism and characteristics.Chapter Four is"China's Parliamentary Diplomacy from Multiple Perspectives", which analyzes China's parliamentary diplomacy from multiple perspectives. This Chapter opens with a brief introduction of the National People's Congress -- the organizational basis of China's parliamentary diplomacy, analyzes its legal basis through an examination of the diplomatic powers of the National People's Congress, comprehensively reviews its development by summing up the successful experiences, and has an introduction of the organizational mechanism for China's parliamentary diplomacy.Chapter Five is"Parliamentary Diplomacy in China's Overall Diplomacy". This chapter focuses on the role of China's parliamentary diplomacy in the overall diplomacy of China, and illustrates that"parliamentary diplomacy is an important part of overall diplomacy of a state". It examines the relationship between China's parliamentary diplomacy and governmental diplomacy, recognizes the leading role played by the governmental diplomacy, and points out that parliamentary diplomacy, while serving the governmental diplomacy, should not merely become a copy of the latter. It uses China's parliamentary diplomacy towards Japan as a case study so as to reveal the role played by parliamentary diplomacy in China's overall diplomacy. The chapter also points out that parliamentary diplomacy will assume an increasingly important role based on the analysis of the diplomatic strategy of China in the 21st century.The Conclusion part, entitled"China's Parliamentary Diplomacy From the Global Perspective", examines China's parliamentary diplomacy in the global context, identifies the common and different traits of parliamentary diplomacy in China and western countries, and puts forward some policy suggestions to reform China's parliamentary diplomacy.