The course aims at providing the students with a wide overview of contemporary diplomacy in the global scenario, with specific reference to the major transformations and relevance for peacebuilding of the diplomatic field in recent times. In particular, the course will focus on negotiation and mediation as conflict resolution tools and activities. Challenges and prospects for the future of diplomacy in the light of cultural, societal, and technological changes will be the object of discussions and workshops.

Knowledge and understanding The course will offer key theoretical tools for analyzing the evolving role of diplomacy in a globalized world in terms of actors, agency, and agents. The course will provide students with advanced knowledge and analytical resources that will enable them to understand the processes and consequences of negotiation and mediation between national, international, transnational and non-state actors. Applying knowledge and understanding: The students will be able to identify the prominent features of the institutions of diplomacy in terms of organizational standards, cultural features and expected performance; apply theoretical models to concrete international case studies of negotiation and mediation, with special attention to ongoing crises and conflicts; examine and compare the outcome of major international negotiation efforts Making judgements I expect students to be able to evaluate diplomatic routine and diplomatic initiatives, identifying the effectiveness and the shortcomings of the different types of diplomacy both as a process and as a pursuit of substantial outcomes. Students should also acquire a critical understanding of the scope and challenges of processes of bilateral and international negotiations in the field of international security and global issues, such as nuclear programs and climate change. Communications Skills This course will offer the possibility to handle and understand terms and concepts in the field of diplomacy and international negotiation in order to communicate their ideas, proposals, analyses and critical reasoning in the most convincing and articulated way. Learning skills This course will provide students with the intellectual tools to determine why certain international negotiations are initiated and others are not, why some of them are successful and other are not, and to evaluate explanatory models in an independent way.

The main focus of the course will be understanding and explaining the process of international negotiation and mediation, as one of the most important tasks of diplomats and international experts and practitioners. The course will also highlight the mutual interaction between theory and practice, conceptual approaches and empirical evidence. A blend of "field notes" taken from the direct diplomatic experience of the instructor, case studies and theoretical contextualization will be a salient feature of the course. Using several analytical tools, students will assess and compare contemporary and historical examples of international negotiations and mediation efforts, in particular through structured workshops and a simulation. Negotiation and mediation will be considered not only peace-making tools but also instruments to strengthen the world political order. They will be conceptualized as processes specific to the international system of states and crucial to its survival, in the wider context of the international politics, implying strategic choices among confrontation, competition and cooperation. Special attention will be devoted to cross-cultural aspects of negotiation and gender issues in diplomacy. Sustainability topics: one of the features of the course is dealing with the causes and consequences of conflicts related to international dependence on fossil fuel, as well as the notion of “ecocide” related to conflicts

Required readings: On Diplomacy • Adam Watson, Diplomacy. The Dialogue Between States, Routledge, London-New York 1982 (selected chapters) • Andrew F. Cooper, Jorge Heine, Ramesh Thakur, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2013 (selected chapters) On Negotiation • Bertram I. Spector, An Introduction to International Negotiation. Concepts, Processes and Research, Routledge, New York 2026 • J.Michael Greig and Paul F. Diehl, International Mediation, Polity, Cambridge UK-Malden MA,USA 2016 • Alexander L. George, Forceful Persuasion. Coercive Diplomacy as an Alternative to War, United States Institute of Peace, Washington DC 1991 (selected chapters) Further optional readings: Additional material, books chapters and journal articles mentioned in the Syllabus provided by the teacher

Conclusion • Simulation de-briefing • The future of diplomacy: discussion, ideas, proposals Required Readings: • Cooper-Heine-Thakur, chapter 30 Further optional readings: • Philip Seib, The Future of #Diplomacy, Polity, Cambridge, UK – Malden, MA 2016, chapters 3,4,5 • Barry O’Neill, International Negotiation: Some Conceptual Developments, "Annual Review of Political Science", 2018. 21:515–33 • Cecilia Albin, Justice and Fairness in International Negotiation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2001, chapter • Costas M. Constantinou, Pauline Kerr and Paul Sharp, eds.,The SAGE Handbook of Diplomacy - Introduction: Understanding Diplomatic Practice • Costas M. Constantinou and James Der Derian, Sustainable Diplomacies, New York 2010, Introduction • Paul Sharp, Diplomatic Theory of International Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2009, Introduction and Conclusion • Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall, eds., Diplomacy and the Future of World Order, Georgetown University Press, Washington DC, 2021, chapters 1, 17 • Ole Jacob Sending, Diplomats and Humanitarians in crisis governance, in Ole Jacob Sending, Vincent Pouliot and Iver B. Neumann, eds., Diplomacy and the Making of World Politics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2015 • Daryl Copeland, Guerrilla Diplomacy. Rethinking International Relations, Lynne Rienner, Boulder 2009, chapter 12

Attendance Students who actively participate in at least 70% of classes are considered to be attending. Classroom attendance is recorded through the BEACON system. Students who do not reach the minimum classroom attendance threshold of 70% become non-compliant. Without prejudice to the mandatory attendance requirement as stipulated in the University's Didactic Regulations (Regolamento Didattico di Ateneo), students on international exchange, with proven health problems, engaged in work or internship, and athletes may be exempted from compulsory attendance. The request to be exempted from compulsory attendance should be submitted to the Graduate School office, with appropriate supporting documentation, by the first week of the semester. The outcome of the request is notified via e-mail. Faculty members are notified about the respective exempted students through Luiss Learn. Attending students are involved in a continuous assessment that corresponds to one-third (1/3) of the overall evaluation. During the continuous assessment, students are expected to complete the following assignment. 1) Students are required to produce individually, a book chapter/article review: one page, up to 500 words (a list of titles is provided) by 31 October 2026 2) In the context of the simulation "Towards the endgame in Ukraine. A peace deal and beyond", each student should write a succinct position paper (up to 500 words, no later than 10.11.2026) containing options and recommendations written by a member of a national delegation for the Head of that delegation on how to engage in negotiations. The paper produced for the simulation will be discussed as the first topic at the oral exam at the end of the course. A collective grade will be given to each team participating in the simulation that will take place in the weeks 10 and 11 of the course. In the exam sessions, attending students take an individual final exam that corresponds to two-thirds (2/3)) of the overall evaluation. The final examination is aimed at the recognition of the knowledge and skills acquired and will consist of a oral examination. The combination of continuous assessment (one-third) and final exam (two-thirds) is valid only in the examination dates scheduled at the end of the semester in which the course is taught. In subsequent examination sessions (retake sessions), students are evaluated exclusively through a single final examination (100%), thus losing the continuous assessment grade. The continuous assessment is mandatory for attending students. Continuous assessment's grades cannot be refused. Students who are exempted from compulsory attendance or are non-compliant, shall take a final examination that corresponds to 100% of the overall evaluation, and which is based on an appropriate study load that can compensate for the missed knowledge acquisition over the semester.

• Excellent outcome in the cumulative final grade (ideally 30/30) • Active participation and proven willingness to deepen knowledge of the field