An Appraisal Of Parliamentary Diplomacy In A Contemporary Scenario: The Case Of Tanzania

ABSTRACT

The overall objective of this study was to make a critical appraisal of Parliamentary Diplomacy in the contemporary scenario focusing on Tanzania. In the assessment, the following independent variables namely: practices of parliamentarians and representation in international fora, degree of parliamentarians involvement in relevant international fora, usefulness and dissemination of information from those fora were taken into consideration. Parliamentary diplomacy was considered as the dependent variable. The data collection methods comprised structured questionnaires that contained open and closed questions, Interviews, documentary sources and observation method. Units of inquiry were the Honorable Speaker; the Clerk of the National Assembly, 12 members selected from Chairpersons and Deputies chairpersons of the 16 Parliamentary Standing Committees, 20 Members of Parliament who are members of the Foreign Affairs defense and security committee, whereby a total of 40 respondents was drawn from the sampling frame. The purposive and random sampling techniques were employed in this study to sample out the required respondents. The data analysis involved the use of numbers, tabulation and percentages. The study revealed that parliamentary diplomacy is very important as it adds value on the institutional mandate of Parliament which essentially is representation moreover it compliments government international diplomacy and issues of good governance together with many other positive elements. However the question is how should it be placed within the framework of more formal diplomatic channels and practices. The study recommends that enough recourses be provided to the vi Tanzania parliament so that it effectively participates in the international fora and therefore avoid weaknesses of parliamentary diplomacy when it comes to the question of resources.