Grassroot diplomacy

Pioneered by social entrepreneur Talyn Rahman-Figueroa, grassroot diplomacy refers to the political engagement of members of civil society with political leaders on a national and international level. As such grassroot diplomacy facilitates a closer relationship between diplomats and policy-makers, and the people they are meant to represent.
Background
In democratic society the views of the electorate are represented by a select few in the form of elected Members of Parliament. However while MPs seek to represent the views of their constituents, they are also obliged to follow the Party position or whip. Furthermore, MPs do not imply involvement in policy-making, particularly if they are in Opposition.

Grassroot diplomacy provides members of society with the opportunity to be heard directly by their Government. It therefore serves to complement and strengthen democracy by providing an avenue through which proactive members of civil society from around the world can present their policy projects and solutions to diplomats and political leaders.

Traditional diplomatic efforts are said to have largely failed to address the world’s challenges, with global issues growing more and more serious in spite of resolution being in the public interest. Movements such as public diplomacy, citizen diplomacy and grassroot diplomacy seek to address this by involving ordinary people in the diplomatic process.
Grassroot diplomacy refers to a form of political engagement that opens up diplomatic dialogue to citizens at a grassroots level. It is, however, distinct from lobbying whereby it intends to give voice to the parts of society that lack influence. It is intended for those members of society without political agendas or the institutional means to enact policy change, i.e. the ordinary citizen.

Through grassroot diplomacy individuals keen to promote a social good can have their policy projects recognised by the most influential members of society - namely people in Government. As such it is meant to enable ordinary citizens to be champions of their own foreign policy.
Grassroot diplomacy also helps political leaders, often described as a disconnected elite, to listen to the concerns, priorities and solutions of the people they are representing. In this way, it is described as “bridging the gap between civil society and political leaders”.
Other usages
‘Grassroots Diplomacy’ has been used to describe the building of positive relations and trust between different groups in civil society, all at a grassroots level.
‘Grass-roots diplomacy’ has also been used to specifically refer to the way in which individual members of society can and have had an effect on diplomatic relations whereby their actions have been used or interpreted as representing the views of the nation, as opposed to selected representatives from the national Government. For this usage also see citizen diplomacy.

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