Multi-track Diplomacy - Twelve Principles of Multi-track Diplomacy

Twelve Principles of Multi-track Diplomacy

The Multi-Track concept is meant to convey the idea that all sectors of society are important and need to be involved, supported, listened to, and trained in a shared language of dialogue, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding in order to prevent or end violent conflict.

The Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy developed the following operating principles:

1. Relationship—Building strong interpersonal and intergroup relations throughout the fabric of society.
2. Long-term commitment—Making an ongoing commitment to people and to processes that may take years to come to fruition.
3. Cultural synergy—Respecting the cultural wisdom of all the parties and welcoming the creative interaction of different cultural ways.
4. Partnership—Modeling collaborative process by partnering with local parties and with other institutions and coalitions.
5. Multiple technologies—Utilizing a variety of technologies, as appropriate, and creating new methods, as needed, to meet the unique needs of each situation.
6. Facilitation—Assisting parties in taking responsibility for their own dreams and destiny.
7. Empowerment—Helping people become empowered agents of change and transformation within their societies.
8. Action research—Learning from all that we do and sharing that learning with others.
9. Invitation—Entering the system where there is an invitation and an open door.
10. Trust—Building relationships of mutual trust and caring within the system.
11. Engagement—Acknowledging that once we enter a system we become a unique part of it -- an engaged, caring, and accountable partner.
12. Transformation—Catalyzing changes at the deepest level of beliefs, assumptions, and values, as well as behaviors and structures.

Multi-Track Diplomacy is essentially a step in the same direction as the evolution of Deep Democracy. While Multi-Track Diplomacy focuses on functional social roles in each of its tracks, Deep Democracy uses concepts and methodologies from Process Oriented Psychology to further extends the discrete tracks to a broad range of roles, psychological figures, and experiences and explores the tensions and chaos that exist between them.