Diplo - 25 December 2025 - The privatisation of statecraft

The privatisation of statecraft

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Published on 25 December 2025

Related topics:    Peace diplomacy Track 1.5 diplomacy

Author:   Diplo Team

Contents

 -The mogul and the fixer

 -The ‘Track 1.5’ dilemma

 -The Kushner doctrine in action

 -The risks of personal diplomacy

Between the high-rises of Miami and the lawns of Mar-a-Lago, a strange new diplomatic era is beginning. It trades the weary atmosphere of Washington for the comfort of a private resort. In this setting, surrounded by crystal glasses and golf courses, the real work of American statecraft is underway.

The State Department, full of career officials and endless files, seems to have been pushed aside. In its place, Donald Trump has returned to the methods of a family business. Nearly a year into his second term, he has called back Jared Kushner. The President’s son-in-law, who had supposedly left politics to manage his private equity firm, is back in the fold. He is the quiet fixer in a loud administration, brought in to save the deals that official channels cannot close. The centre of diplomatic gravity has shifted from Washington to the humid luxury of South Florida.

The mogul and the fixer

For a while, it looked as if Mr Kushner had successfully escaped. He had swapped the West Wing for the investment world and seemed happy to let others handle global conflicts. But the pull of the Trump orbit is hard to resist. As the administration’s early attempts at peace-making began to stall, the call went out. On paper, the man in charge of these delicate tasks is Steve Witkoff. He is a property mogul and one of the President’s regular golf partners. His qualifications for diplomacy seem to be his proximity to the President rather than any experience in the foreign service.

A man in a suit with his arms raised

Steve Witkoff at a campaign rally for Donald Trump [Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP]. Source Al Jazeera.

Insiders describe Mr Witkoff as a large personality who loves private jets and brings a brash energy to negotiations. But when his bluster doesn’t work, Mr Kushner is sent in. He is viewed as the closer. This creates a strange scene: two property developers treating complex wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe as if they were zoning disputes in Manhattan. A curious partnership has emerged between a loud real estate mogul and the silent son-in-law.

The ‘Track 1.5’ dilemma

This unusual setup is a classic example of what experts call Track 1.5 diplomacy. It sits in a grey area. It is not quite the official government-to-government channel, known as Track 1. It is also not the informal Track 2 chat among non-state actors. This hybrid model relies on people who have the leader’s ear but operate outside the state’s strict rules. In Trump’s version, however, the ‘1.5’ refers less to diplomatic theory and more to the personal connections to the President.

Relying on private citizens like Mr Witkoff and family members like Mr Kushner gives the administration a flexibility that traditional diplomats often lack. But it also creates a messy web of conflicts. When a negotiator sits across from a Russian official or a Middle Eastern leader while also managing a billion-dollar investment fund, it becomes unclear whose interests are being served. Is it the country, or the portfolio? It is diplomacy made private and personal, cut loose from the traditions of the State Department. In this new style of diplomacy, the line between national interest and private business is very thin.

The Kushner doctrine in action

The fruits of this Florida-based diplomacy have been mixed. In Gaza, Mr Kushner’s return was seen as a key factor in pushing a ceasefire deal through in October. He used the relationships he built during the Abraham Accords to get results. It was a win for the ‘Kushner doctrine’, the idea that money and personal friendships can solve old political problems. However, the same method is struggling in Ukraine.

 Clothing, Formal Wear, Suit, Adult, Male, Man, Person, Blazer, Coat, Jacket, Publication, Tuxedo, Standing, Accessories, Tie, Jared Kushner

Photograph by Stefan Ruizphoto for TIME

Recent reports place Mr Kushner and Mr Witkoff in Miami meetings with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian negotiator who runs his country’s sovereign wealth fund. These talks, meant to end the war, have reportedly hit a wall. European officials are watching nervously. They worry that Mr Witkoff is too eager to please the Russians. The fear in Europe is that the American team sees national borders as something to be traded, and that the future of Ukraine might be decided in a backroom deal that prefers a quick ‘win’ over long-term security. While the business approach worked in Gaza, the war in Ukraine is proving much harder to fix.

The risks of personal diplomacy

As the administration moves from one crisis to the next, concentrating power in the hands of a few trusted men marks an important change in how America operates. The slow, boring work of building alliances is being replaced by personal deal-making. There is something appealing about the idea that a few smart men in a room can solve the world’s problems over a weekend in Miami. It fits the American myth of the dealmaker.

But international relations are rarely as clean as a property sale. They are messy and full of history. Things that cannot always be charmed or bought. By leaning so heavily on his son-in-law, President Trump is betting that personal chemistry can succeed where institutions have failed. Whether this is a smart new way to run the world or a dangerous risk remains to be seen. For now, we wait to see if the road to peace really runs through a country club.