Regional diplomacy refers to the conduct of relations between states

Sovereign state

A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...

 that belong to an identifiable geographic region. Regional diplomacy (RD) has become a strong force in international relations

International relations

International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...

. Globalization

Globalization

Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...

 and interdependence have made all states aware, that neighborhood cooperation works to mutual benefit. Small countries see the benefit of numbers, for economic and political advantage. Many regions attempt to emulate successful exemplars, such as the EU, and ASEAN, with varying degrees of success.

Overview

Regional diplomacy is a form of multilateral diplomacy that is practiced within a closed circle of neighboring states. The term 'region' used in international affairs is a geography-based political construct in that a priory reason exists to determine the contours of a region, and the way a region is defined depends on those that run a particular regional organization.

Regional diplomacy is of special interest today because in many parts of the world, regional organizations are on the rise, driven by an urge to pursue stronger economic links, and to use this to improve mutual political understanding, and gain in mutual security. The European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

(EU), now consisting of 27 member states, is the world's most advanced practitioner of regional diplomacy, and a role model in most parts of the world.