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Summary: On 1 October 2004, a new Royal Netherlands Embassy building opened in Warsaw, Poland. Its striking, contemporary appearance surprises and seduces at the same time: glass, concrete and wood artfully intersect in a sophisticated design that champions transparency and openness. This four-year building project commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs was entrusted to the highly acclaimed Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat (b. 1956). His carefully conceived architectural programme invites a wider discussion on the ways in which embassy architecture can support the aspirations of modern diplomacy. To this end, this article situates the Dutch Embassy building within the wider context of Dutch–Polish diplo-matic relations and examines how its design contributes to defining the practice of Dutch diplomacy. It also proposes a comparative view of trends within Dutch embassy architecture by considering other contemporary ex-amples in South America, Central Europe and Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: What can the historical study of early American legations in Europe tell us about how the United States approaches its embassies in the world today? Embassy buildings today represent over two hundred years of American trial and error in constantly shifting foreign political environments. They are, by their nature, intended to straddle multiple modalities: public and private; political and personal; global and local. It was because of their deliberately fluid representational states that the first American diplomatic missions to Europe could attempt to bridge the paradigm of aristocratic and democratic approaches to embassy curation abroad. As the first modern post-colonial democracy, the diplomatic agents of the US experimented with the placement, decoration and occupation of their ministerial spaces. In doing so, they innovated strategies of fluidity still seen in American embassies today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. In the 1740s–1780s, decentralization processes within the Kazakh Khanate led to that it was involved into somewhat troubled foreign policy relations. The period of struggle for political independence witnessed the emergence of Abylai — among most authoritative leaders of the Kazakh Khanate — as a key political decision-maker of the Great Steppe. His son Uali joined and continued the process of developing diplomatic relations between the Kazakh Khanate and the Qing Empire. In the future, it was a balanced strategy of diplomatic maneuvers under conditions of dual citizenship that constituted the basis of the latter ruler’s administrative agenda across Kazakh lands. Goals. Thus, the study aims to examine Abylai and Uali’s diplomatic relations with the Qing Empire. The paper shall also explore archival materials for data pertaining to diplomatic endeavors of Uali which are scarce enough as compared to those on Abylai’s activities. Materials and methods. The work focuses on documents stored at the Historical Archive of Omsk Oblast, Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire, and Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts. Quite a number of the documents from the Historical Archive of Omsk Oblast have been declassified only in 2019, and were never introduced into wide scholarly circulation. The newly obtained records reveal certain historical facts, including about certain diplomatic endeavors definitely adding to the little-known personality of Khan Uali. The currently available documentary evidence dealing with the events of the 18th–19th centuries virtually shed no light on Uali’s role in historical processes. Our search for information about activities of this historical figure shows how poorly investigated the latter is. The study employs the principles of scientific and historical knowledge, with due regard the value approach. Results. The Kazakh-Qing land-related negotiations after the collapse of the Dzungar Khanate continued with the establishment of trade and economic relations — to witness an increase in mutual diplomatic missions. So, Abylai faced an opportunity to obtain the Qing citizenship as a basis for further development of ties with the Manchu imperial palace. The Qing citizenship of Kazakh rulers Abylai and Uali did significantly expand room for political maneuver of theirs. Abylai is still considered to be a key figure in establishing Kazakh-Qing diplomatic relations, he who had taken the bulk of the responsibility — in this matter — among the then individuals of power and influence in the Steppe. Whereas, the role and activities of Uali remain little-known when it comes to discuss diplomatic relations between the Kazakhs and neighboring states.

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Organisations need to ensure that the appropriate people are in place with the required values, skills and competencies that are necessary to bring about change and accomplish goals to drive organisational strategy forward. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of organisational strategy, recruitment strategy and organisational culture on succession planning in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in South Africa. The study is located within a quantitative paradigm and data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The target population comprised employees (from entry level to executive levels) of DIRCO based in the Gauteng province as well as 127 South African Embassies and Consulates in foreign countries. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the sample composition and participants' perception of succession planning at DIRCO. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to assess model fit and to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that no significant relationship was observed between the organisational strategy and succession planning in DIRCO, while a negative relationship between recruitment strategy and succession planning was observed. A positive relationship between organisational culture and succession planning was confirmed. The results confirm that the recruitment strategy of DIRCO does not create opportunities for identification of internal talent. In order to address these deficiencies, it is recommended that DIRCO identify, mentor and promote diverse pools of internal candidates through succession planning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After Adolf Hitler became prime minister in 1933 in Germany, various reactions have emerged against this situation in the world and Europe. The reactions that emerged in Europe increased in 1935, and within this framework, bilateral or multiple alliance systems were started to be established between European states. The main purpose of these alliance systems is to prevent Germany from violating the Versailles Treaty and to prevent its revisionist policies. Turkey has felt the need to develop policies against changes that may occur by closely monitoring these developments. In this context, Mehmet Emin Ali Türkgeldi, Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, prepared a general report that also discussed the developments in Europe, taking into account the evaluations from the Turkısh embassies in various European capitals. This report was also approved by Numan Menemencioğlu, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Menemencioğlu added some analysis to the report. Both the name of the detection and evaluation of these issues form the basic approach of Turkey's foreign policy. In the article, the important developments that took place in Europe in the first half of 1935 and how Türkgeldi and Menemencioğlu evaluated these developments were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Aide Memoire of Embassy of the Hungarian People's Republic to the Federal Chancellery/Foreign Affairs. It mentions need to regulate relations in interests of both peoples between the People's Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Austria and Leopold Figl with these thoughts agreed and pointed out that Austria was also striving for one improvement of the relationship. It also mentions governments or foreign ministries each have one Commission would be willing to send.

The article focuses on a letter from Walter Wodak, the Austrian embassy in Yugoslavia, to the Federal Chancellery/Foreign Affairs. It provides information on the situation of Hungarian refugees in Yugoslavia. It also mentions the fear among the refugees of being forcibly returned to Hungary and the negotiations between the Yugoslav government and the Kadar government regarding the repatriation of refugees.

This article deals with the duty of care that states hold in relation to their citizens abroad — more specifically, the double role of diplomatic personnel, as both providers and recipients of care. The focus of discussion is states’ duty of care for diplomatic personnel, raising questions of how this care can be balanced with the duty of care for citizens and how far this duty stretches. The article first emphasizes the threats, before focusing on the means of protection: evacuation; physical structures; and psychological care. A tension remains, for as states fulfil their duty of care towards personnel through increasing security, they might at the same time reduce their personnel’s capacity to provide care for citizens. One solution for this tension — outsourcing and local personnel — tests the limits of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a communication from the Embassy of the Hungarian People's Republic to the Austrian Federal Chancellery, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It emphasize that the Hungarian Prime Minister has formally announced the cessation of armed activities in Hungary. It also expresses the embassy's renewed assurance of their highest respect and esteem to the Austrian Federal Chancellery, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The article focuses on the statements made by the Hungarian chargé d'affaires in Vienna regarding Hungary's policy towards Austria. Topics include the Hungarian government's interest in improving relations with Austria and the consideration of two projects aimed at enhancing diplomatic ties; and the status of the embassies from chargé d'affaires to ambassadors and implementing eased entry and exit regulations for Austrian citizens traveling to and from Hungary.

The article focuses on the Hungarian policy towards Austria. Topics include the potential appointment of ambassadors to lead the embassies; the influence of Deputy Foreign Minister Berei in shaping foreign policy; and the unsatisfactory entry and exit regulations affecting Austrian repatriates with improvement in the behavior of Hungarian authorities towards Austrian policy.

The article examines the impact of economic sanctions on Iran due to its nuclear weapons program as of December 2015. The U.S. has reportedly been using economic sanctions in dealing with Iran since its embassy in Tehran was siezed in the late 1970s which include restricting Iran's access to the international financial system. The political, economic, and social conditions in Iran is discussed as well as the role of sanctions in shaping Iran's decision-making. Also explored are the effectiveness of the sanctions on Iran, its 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S., and the factors that contribute to the impact of sanctions on Iran.