| Simply speaking, Track-Two Diplomacy is one of the channels and activities in developing foreign relations. To some degree, it belongs to the civil diplomacy contrasting with the pure official diplomacy (Track-One Diplomacy). However, it differs from the pure civil diplomacy (Track-Three) and it lies between official diplomacy and the pure civil diplomacy. At present, there is no consensus to the concept of Track-Two Diplomacy among the academic world. The main reason is the lack of the core analysis concept or there is no clear idea on it. This paper brings the official decision-making as a core analysis concept into the question under discussed. International law is the legal principle of international political behaviors. It not only decides the legal status of actor's, but also has direct influence on the way and ability of the actor in participating international politics. The non-conformity between the absolutization of international law actor's and the multiform of international political actor's has differentiated the international political official actors from the non-official actors. The international political actors, which have obtained the international law qualification and can carry on the official decision-making that can produce the corresponding legal binding forces, belong to"Track One" in international politics. According to the participating percentage in political affairs, the non-official actors are divided into"The Track Two"and "The Track Three". Therefore, the working definition of Track-Two Diplomacy in this paper is: A kind of transnational activity engaged by all kinds of non-official actors with an explicit policy orientation to influence official decision-making. Within the restraint of legal status and its ability, the most convenient and effective way for "The Track Two"to realize its own goal is to influence "The Track One" official decision-making. Track-Two Diplomacy has three characteristics: the status non-official, the behavior way intermediary and the field of activity low political. The clarified concept of Track-Two Diplomacy is significant in providing us a new paradigm of the international political actor. At present, there are mainly two kinds of analyses frames: "State---non-state" and "three departments". However, these theory frames are far from to explain the increasingly complex international politics and multi-actors. Based on Track-Two Diplomacy, this paper reasonably develops the good and discard the bad of the above two frames, and constructs a new "three axles" paradigm, with an intention to reach a sound cognition to the more and more international political actors.Track-Two Diplomacy emerges not accidentally: The development of the citizen society is its social condition; technical development like transportation and communication is the physical condition; the global problems have accelerated the emergence of Track-Two Diplomacy; the development of the theory of international politics provides its theory strut and a more realistic reason is to avoid the official diplomatic risk. As one of the international political practices, relying on its own characteristic and superiority, Track-Two Diplomacy may play "the experimental plot" role to promote the understanding, increase trust, enhance cooperation and alleviate the international crisis, accordingly impel the establishment and development of Track-One Diplomacy in the situation that Track-One Diplomacy not yet... |
