What are embassies and what are their purpose?
In: 2701
An Embassy is a group of people on a diplomatic mission. The head of the Embassy is an Ambassador and this person and those who work for them enjoy what is known as diplomatic immunity. This makes them immune from the laws of the host country (the country the diplomatic mission is to).
The building that they work in is also usually known as an Embassy and it is protected by treaties that mean that no one from the host country can enter its grounds without permission. However, contrary to popular belief the grounds of the Embassy are not considered the sovereign territory of the diplomatic mission using it. This protection is also extended to any residence members of the diplomatic mission live in while on their diplomatic mission.
The purpose of a diplomatic mission is to for them to represent the state that has sent them. They meet with members of government, business leaders, etc, etc, etc. They work out the details of treaties, maintain good (or even bad) relations, at times they may even be informed, or inform, that a state of war exists between the two nations.
Embassies are essentially the office of a country/government that resides in a foreign country.
For example, the US Embassy in Germany is an extention of the US Govt in Germany. Likewise, the German Embassy in the US is an extension of the German govt.
The highest ranking official in an Embassy is an Ambassador.
Their purpose is fairly wide ranging, but here’s a few simple examples:
Ambassadors are diplomats who are the President’s eyes, ears, and mouth on the ground in the country he/she is located in. The Ambassador works with the local national government on behalf of POTUS. Embassies are usually located in the capital city, while other cities may have smaller offices known as Consulates.
And while the Embassy is located within the borders of a foreign country, the Embassy grounds themselves are treated as a “border” that may not be crossed without permission. Doing so could be considered an act of aggression.
The Embassy can act as a save haven of sorts for US citizens in foreign countries. If Germany was attacked by Russia, US citizens in Germany could seek refuge in the Embassy, and the Embassy would also assist in getting them evacuated from the country. A less extreme example would be that a US citizen traveling abroad lost his/her wallet and needs assistance with getting a new ID, credit cards, etc.
Embassies also serve other purposes, like providing screening for foreign nationals wishing to enter the US.
Mostly cheerleaders for their country’s commerce, issuing visas to the host country citizens, and renewing passports. They are not there to protect their country’s citizens outside of issuing advisories.
They are just a line of communication. When you see embassies being torched or overrun by the locals, then it’s over.
Embassies are diplomatic missions, first and foremost. Historically, an ambassador in a meaningful post was an incredibly important person. Before rapid communications and fast travel around the world, your ambassador would have to negotiate on your country’s behalf.
Embassies and ambassadors (plus their staff, somewhat to a lesser degree) are protected by international treaty. If they weren’t, embassies wouldn’t be possible. This rule is almost universally followed because if it weren’t, it would be bad for everyone. (The exceptions, like the USA bombing a Chinese embassy, are rare.)
These days, the diplomatic element is much less important. Leaders can pick up a phone and call their counterpart, rather than sending messages back and forth over several months. Embassies now primarily deal with supporting citizens in the country and being eyes and ears on the ground.
States send official people to other states to follow up on issues of interest and also to help citizens who live in that state. The building these people work at is called an embassy. Embassies are headed by the ambassador, who represents the head of the state of the sending country.
Think about your neighborhood. You have neighbors living around you, and you probably occasionally need to settle things with your neighbors. Your kids visit their kids, for example, and they want to sleep over. Or their kids break a toy over at your place. Or someone’s yard is full of annoying barking dogs and dog shit and trash. So you phone them, or you visit their place, or they visit your place, and you talk things out, maybe settle on some ground rules about how things should be.
On a normal family scale, that’s doable. But what if your family had millions of people in a gigantic home with millions of rooms, and the neighbors also had millions of people in a gigantic home with millions of rooms, and so did the neighbors on the other side, and so on. Inter-neighbor relations wouldn’t be manageable with a phone call or a visit. There would be thousands of interactions to handle between each pair of homes. You have millions of kids, for example, and a million of them want to sleep over at the neighbor’s house.
To solve this, you set aside a room in your home that is reserved for a representative member of your neighbor’s family, and they set aside such a room in their home for a representative member of your family. When you need to settle something with your neighbors, you go down the hall to the room you reserved for them in your massive home (their embassy in your home) and you work it out with their representative (ambassador and staff). If your kids need something while they’re at the neighbor’s house, they know they can go to the room reserved for your family representative (ambassador and staff) at the neighbor’s house and get help.
I have used Canadian embassy services in many countries around the world. When trying to do business in another country as a private company, the embassy staff, specifically the Trade Commissioners, are really helpful. They have staff with specific industry knowledge that know the players and can facilitate meetings. This is really helpful if you are trying to do business with the government of the foreign country. As a private company, it is nearly impossible to get an introductory meeting with the Korean Minister of Agriculture for example. The Trade Commissioner staff also help with cultural difference; what to expect in a meeting in Japan vs Argentina. I regularly did week long business trips to several countries and I would try to arrange my first and last meeting to be with TC staff. We would stay in touch in between trips too. They always offered to let us use embassy space for high level meetings. It is much more appropriate to get a senior person from a company or government to meet you at the Embassy, rather than at the Hilton Hotel. They would also contact me to help them out. If there is a high level delegation from India coming to visit Canada, they often need to fill up the agenda. They would ask if my company would host a plant tour or a dinner. I am obviously a big fan of their services. It is my understanding that the US embassies do not offer this level of support to private industries.
ok so for the ELI5 answer:
Imagine you live with your extended family on a big farm. Across the forest there is another huge extended family living in a big farm.
To make it easier to talk to one another, both families agree to build a cottage for the other among them. That place would be fully considered theirs.
When your grownups want to talk about important stuff, they can just visit the little house your neighbors have in your farm, instead of having to travel across the forest.
If there is a dispute about the fence dividing your property; how to use the shared river stream; your teenage brother getting drunk when visiting his gf at the neighbors; so on. Rather than have your father travel to talk to their father, instead your dad can talk to the neighbor’s uncle that lives on your farm who represents his family.
Then there are a ton of other administrative functions for your neighbors who decide to come live on your farm, that is covered by the consulate
It’s also like the “official” phone number of the embassy’s country.
You can imagine Iran or Russia invading the embassy building in their own country, and holding the ambassador hostage, so…that embassy gets closed down.
Fine…then the leader of Iran, or it’s “speaker of the house” of their congress decides they want to call the USA and negotiate about something to avoid a military attack, or a missile being lobbed into their biggest Army base. What number do you call?
Anyone can call the white house secretary in charge of incoming phone calls, but they might not speak Farsi, or mandarin, or Indonesian, or whatever. The Embassy speaks your language. plus, how does the white house know it isn’t a crank call?
Each culture has its own set of protocols, and when negotiating a trade deal about oil for wheat, or titanium for weapons, or cobalt for corn…you have to be careful about accidentally insulting the other party. The US ambassador to a given country should be educated about the best way to communicate their precise stance on any issue, without any misunderstandings.
Latest Answers