One important distinction lost on many westerners is the difference between a cabal and a faction, and how that subtlety relates to diplomacy.

In a police state, for example, there are often groups of individuals who have shared motives or a common goal which is never overtly mentioned. George Orwell described this silent relationship well, pointing out that verbal language is one form of communication not as reliable as others when it is restricted by external pressure.

In a police state, or other system where freedom of expression is restricted, those people who have the sharpest instincts and who are least prone to be cornered by fear of authority form a cabal. They have common values and a common goal which is greater than any of them but which each acts on independently.

In the same police state there are factions, generally aware of one another but ignorant of less visible groups. Members of factions are generally political people, those who see groups as analogous to sports teams. They have values that they defend with mild vigor but the goal is to get a majority, to win by being loudest.

As a general rule, most westerners are familiar with the concept of cabal only from their family. When they leave their family they enter a world of factions. In some other countries, however, there are widely recognized cabals that supersede factional relationships for large numbers of people.

When one country sends a diplomat to another country to form an alliance, the quality of the alliance will vary according to whether the relationship tends to be factional or if it is based on discrete shared goals.