Summit Diplomacy

Abstract

Summitry, conducted at the highest level, has become an established part of diplomacy in the 20th and 21st centuries. Summit diplomacy means the regular meetings of heads of state or government, who acts in double legal status: on the one hand they are creators of state’s foreign policy and are responsible for political decision-making; on the other hand they become diplomats responsible for execution of these decisions. The main features of contemporary summitry are: the frequency with which these meetings take place, the degree of their institutionalization and medialization. The articles identifies four different kinds of diplomatic summits: (1) regular summits held in the frame of international organizations, which could be meetings of their organs (European Council summits); (2) institutionalized regular summits which are not backed by any formal organization and are political-economic for a on their own (G7/8 summits); (3) ad hoc summits concerning specific international problems, organized by international organizations or states; (4) ceremonial summits. The article also analyzes advantages and disadvantages of summit diplomacy.