At the invitation of the Institute of Diplomatic Studies, Ambassador Dr. Ezzat Saad, Director of the Council, gave two lectures to the new batch of students at the institute (Batch no. 52). These two lectures were given in the following order:

The first one: On the afternoon of August 19, 2019, about “Public International Law and Foreign Policy,” during which the following points were particularly addressed:

• The main characteristics of public international law as being based on agreement of wills among states, and the incorrectness of comparing this law with domestic law.

• The direct relation between public international law and the principle of balance of power; the reflections that this would have on the principle of using force in international relations and the rule of law in the norms of international law.

• Spillovers of the one pole domination after the cold war, particularly with respect to using military force based on humanitarian and other considerations, whether with the permission of UN Security Council or without resorting to.

• The rise of new world superpowers, particularly China, Russia, and regional powers; the reflections that such rise would have on the enforcement of the norms of international law, and the US reactions towards that, through attempting to contain the new superpowers and returning back to old system, whether with unilateral American will, or through NATO, or even through the EU.

All that led to undermining existing international norms in the most sensitive fields such as international peace and security, at a time when new norms have not been crystallized yet.

The second lecture: On August 20, 2019, about diplomatic relations, during which the concept of diplomacy has been addressed together with the modern changes that have been introduced to it in connection with the information revolution, as well as the use of social media by states leaders and officials for their messages and for their diplomatic activities. The lecture also discussed the types of diplomacy and their means, in the sense contained in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, the Convention on Special Missions, and the Vienna Convention on the Representation of States in their Relations with International Organizations of a Universal Character.