Diplomacy and World Affairs

Parliamentary diplomacy is an emerging concept on the global field which has seen Members of Parliament engage in diverse activities aimed at enhancing international relations among nations. This study examined the Parliament of Zimbabwe’s engagement in international relations, considering its emerging role and value, the role played by MPs as the custodians of parliamentary diplomacy and Parliament staff as the facilitators and providers of support to the Parliamentarians on diplomatic duties. This study made use of the qualitative method that relied on sources such as Parliament Hansards, parliament publications, journals, interviews, books and speeches. Recognition of parliamentary diplomacy as a complementary diplomatic channel to the executive has been limited and slow to develop in Zimbabwe because it has been regarded as an intrusion into the domain of the executive, this has resulted in the underestimation of parliamentary diplomacy in Zimbabwe. As such this research sought to examine the role played by parliamentary diplomacy in Zimbabwe’s international relations