A Reproducible Approach to Identifying Diplomatic Initiatives

This article develops a reproducible approach to identifying diplomatic initiatives as an independent analytical category in international relations research. It proposes an operational definition based on three necessary criteria: an independent diplomatic action, its orientation towards initiating, organizing, or modifying a diplomatic process, and the presence of a specific diplomatic mechanism. The resulting identification algorithm is tested on 44 official European Council documents adopted between 2018 and 2026. The analysis examines provisions related to the Russia–Ukrainian conflict and its diplomatic settlement within the broader documentary corpus. The study finds no independent diplomatic initiatives satisfying all three criteria, while identifying numerous other forms of diplomatically relevant activity. The article demonstrates how formalized operationalization can distinguish diplomatic initiatives from broader diplomatic and foreign policy activity.