Scholar–practitioner, author, educator, and former ambassador
We often excel at what we like, but even more frequently, we grow fond of what we excel at. In essence, our skills shape our interests to a greater extent than our interests determine the development of our skills.
Sometimes you experience pleasure from not writing. At times, you enjoy not talking. Occasionally, you feel delight in not eating, or not drinking, or not breathing. Sometimes, there even flashes a thought about the bliss of complete, final, and irreversible inaction.
But then everything returns to its usual course: you write in haste, talk incoherently, eat indiscriminately, drink hurriedly, breathe mindlessly, and chaotically try not to think about the impending absolutely complete, utterly final, and entirely irreversible inaction.
Professor Dani Belo of Webster University (U.S.) has deep ties to the United States and Canada. In our YouTube conversation, he shares his thoughts on the current state of relations between these neighboring countries.
I recently had the privilege of hosting Dr. Paul Sharp on my YouTube channel, Diplomatic Nexus. Dr. Sharp is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota in Duluth and an Honorary Editor of the Hague Journal of Diplomacy, and is widely recognized as one of the most prominent contemporary scholars in diplomatic studies.
In our wide-ranging discussion, we explored numerous aspects of modern diplomacy, including its human dimensions and understanding diplomacy as a social practice. Dr. Sharp shared insights from his extensive research, including his influential book “Diplomatic Theory of International Relations” (Cambridge University Press, 2009).
Our conversation highlighted how diplomatic interactions extend beyond formal state relationships to encompass complex social and personal dynamics that shape international relations.
For those interested in diplomatic theory and practice, I encourage you to watch our full discussion on my Diplomatic Nexus channel.
The art of #communication is important. Especially if a person has something to say, or has nothing to say
I believe that much of the talk about talent is heavily mythologized. Truly talented people are extremely rare (and geniuses are even rarer). The vast majority of successful individuals achieve their status not due to some inherent gift but primarily through hard work, perseverance, and, to some extent, luck.
So, talent may not be entirely a bad thing, but you’ll still have to work. And work damn hard if you want to achieve anything on this planet (ah, motivation, motivation!). A bit less if you have abilities, but even they don’t mean much on their own—you need to know how to apply, develop, and even retain them; otherwise, they quickly fade away. In short, if there’s no talent, there’s always hard work and sweat.
By the way, this is something to be glad about: if your success is based entirely—or even mostly—on talent, then there’s little personal merit in it. After all, talent is given to you from the outside, and you possess it not because of your own efforts or achievements. There’s little sense in relying on a gift that was handed to you by chance.
Being a master of detail is one of the most challenging skills. Especially in social life.
Just finished my participation at the International Studies Association Annual Convention in Chicago with a souvenir photo.
A new video on the Diplomatic Nexus YouTube channel: my conversation with Dr. Jozef Bátora about the European Union’s diplomacy, the organization and the functioning of the EU diplomatic service. Dr. Bátora is a Professor of International Relations at Webster Vienna Private University in Vienna and at the Department of Political Science, Comenius University in Bratislava. He was also a senior researcher at ARENA Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo, researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, and visiting scholar and visiting professor at Stanford University.
I recommend it to anyone interested in the EU and European diplomacy.
Alisher Faizullaev 