Diplomacy

This article contains information on Diplomacy as it relates to Nationstates. For more general information, please see the Wikipedia article on the subject.

Diplomacy is the art of conducting negotiations between different parties, usually different states. It is the conduct of international affairs by professional diplomats who usually negotiate treaties and other international agreements prior to their official endorsement by politicians.

The word stems from the Greek word "diploma", which literally means two fold (not "twofold", but as in folded in two). In ancient Greece, a diploma was a certificate certifying completion of a course of study, typically folded in two. In subsequent centuries, the term was applied to papers used in international travel and then to treaty documents. It is from this latter use that its modern meaning is derived.

In an informal or social sense, diplomacy is the employment of tact to gain strategic advantage, one set of tools being the phrasing of statements in a non-confrontational, or social manner.