Description
There has been a rise of interest in the study of non-state diplomacy, which has expanded a realm of study within International Relations that had previously been restricted to sovereign states. On the other hand, discourses have always been at the forefront of diplomacy. This is in particularly true for the diplomacy of actors that do not possess material power, such as non-state actors, who have to rely on non-material power like discourse to display diplomatic agency. Therefore, it would be pertinent to further study how non-state actors utilise discourse in their diplomatic efforts.
To explore this area further, this paper proposes the question of “How do non-state actors display diplomatic agency through discourse?” To answer this question, this paper proposes using discourse theory as a framework to analyse the discourse used by the non-state actors in their attempts in diplomacy. In particular, this paper will use discourse theory to analyse how the non-state actors affix meanings to signs, the discursive devices used, and how these signs overall formed the discourse that the non-state actors used.
This paper will use the pro-democracy movement of Taiwan based overseas from the 1970s and 1990s as a case study, applying discourse theory to explore how these non-state actors used the power of language to advocate for their cause of democracy for Taiwan. In particular, it will explore the discourse of the activists who were based overseas when interacting with states-based actor, and how that played a role in the advocating of democracy for Taiwan.
