Track-Two Diplomacy in Turkish Foreign Policy: The Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission Example

Abstract

Traditionally speaking, diplomacy is the management of cordial relations between accredited representatives of the states through negotiations. However, vast changes that have been taken place in the international system since the collapse of the Soviet Union necessitated a revision in the definition of the term diplomacy. The term “Track-Two Diplomacy” is simply a result of those revision claims. Track-Two Diplomacy should be defined as a process of discussions performed by non-officials of conflicting parties with the purpose of clarifying underlying disputes and exploring peaceful methods of dispute settlement. In this article the efficiency of Track-Two Diplomacy is analyzed through the example of the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission, a Track-Two mechanism operated between the years 2001-2004