A demarche cable is an internal foreign-ministry communication used to either (a) instruct an embassy to deliver a démarche to a host government, or (b) report back on the meeting and the host's response. In U.S. practice, these are typically transmitted through the State Department's cable system and follow a standardized format that includes a summary, background, points to be made (often labeled talking points or non-paper language), and reporting requirements.
The instructing cable usually specifies the level at which the démarche should be delivered (working level, ambassadorial, or head-of-mission to foreign minister), the talking points the diplomat is authorized to convey, any if-asked contingency language, and what materials may be left behind. Sensitive démarches may be marked NODIS (no distribution beyond named recipients) or EXDIS (exclusive distribution). The reporting cable that follows captures the interlocutor's reaction verbatim where possible, since these responses become inputs for policy analysis.
Demarche cables are central to coordinated diplomatic campaigns, such as building UN Security Council support for a resolution, lobbying on export-control compliance, or registering protest over a policy action. When multiple posts receive identical instructions simultaneously, the effort is sometimes called a global démarche or worldwide démarche.
The genre became publicly familiar after the 2010 WikiLeaks Cablegate disclosure, which released roughly 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, many of them démarche instructions and reports. These leaks gave researchers an unusual window into the texture of routine bilateral diplomacy, though they also prompted tightened access controls within the State Department's classified networks.
Example
Ahead of the 2010 UN Security Council vote on Resolution 1929 sanctioning Iran, the U.S. State Department sent demarche cables to dozens of embassies instructing diplomats to lobby host governments for support.