Talk:Citizen diplomacy

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Citizen diplomacy is the process through which 'ordinary' citizens play a role in international affairs, guided by their own convictions. It often takes the shape of challenging the policy of their own governments. The volunteers who traveled to Iraq on the eve of the start of the Second Iraq War, to act as human shields, were practicing citizen diplomacy. It may also be used as an instrument of confidence building and for dispute resolution, to convince publics on both sides that goodwill exists for such a cause, and this may indirectly guild governments to reexamine their own actions. For instance, private groups of citizens have helped India and Pakistan to improve mutual contacts in recent years. Such diplomacy may even be indirectly supported by the governments concerned.