The core and infrastructure are discussed here and form the basis for economic and military power, which are analyzed in later chapters. The national core consists of a country's geography, its people, and its government. The national infrastructure consists of a country's technological sophistication, its transportation system, and its information and communications capabilities. The functions of diplomacy include advancing the national interest through such methods as observing and reporting, negotiating, symbolically representing, intervening, and propagandizing. Diplomacy does not occur in a vacuum.
Diplomacy is an ancient art, and some of the historical functions of diplomacy are still important.
Diplomacy, however, has also changed dramatically during the past century. These changes reflect the changes in the international system and in domestic political processes. Some of the changes have been beneficial, but others have had negative consequences. At the least, diplomacy has become more complex with the proliferation of actors and options. It has also become more vital, given the possible consequences should it fail.