Saturday, July 26, 2008

Book on Diplomacy as teamwork. Italy's experience with Amb. Fulci.

There is probably only one book which contains contributions of 13 diplomats from the same country. It is the Italian book “Italy at the UN. 1993-1999. The years with Paolo Fulci. Diplomacy as a teamwork” (Rubbettino Editore, 2007), available only in Italian and edited by Ranieri Tallarigo (another Italian diplomat).
All the authors have been working with Ambassador Francesco Paolo Fulci while he was the Permanent Representative at the United Nations in New York. The five years described in the book have been very important for Italian diplomacy.
The contributions in the book, full of anecdotes and events, constitute an insider view of multilateral work. Multilateral diplomacy, like other diplomacies, is not an exact science. Nevertheless there are models and best practices that can be developed on the basis of experience. But an important element for success is leadership: from the writings of his collaborators it is clear that Ambassador Fulci was a leader who clearly indicated not only the objectives, but also the methods to achieve them.
Most of the collaborators of Ambassador Fulci are now Italian Ambassadors and it is most probable that they are still putting into practice all the teachings that they received during the Fulci’s years in New York.
The book could be considered a kind of handbook on leadership, teamwork and diplomacy based on a concrete experience in a multilateral diplomatic mission.

TALLARIGO, Ranieri (editor). L' Italia all'ONU 1993-1999. Gli anni con Paolo Fulci: quando la diplomazia fa gioco di squadra [Italy at the UN 1993-1999. The Years with Paolo Fulci. Diplomacy as a Teamwork], Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli (Cz), 2007, pp. 112. (available at http://www.ibs.it)