Does anyone else feel like high-level diplomacy is just a giant shell game?

I’ve been watching the news cycles lately, and I can't help but feel a sense of profound exhaustion. It feels like every time a major summit happens or a few key leaders get in a room together, we’re promised some kind of "turning point" or a "new era of stability." But then, weeks later, we’re right back where we started, just with different headlines and the same old tensions simmering under the surface.

It makes me wonder if these massive, televised meetings actually change the trajectory of global friction, or if they're just highly choreographed theater designed to give the public a sense of movement. I remember back in my early twenties, following the various summits during the previous administration, and the pattern felt identical. There's always this intense period of negotiation where everyone holds their breath, followed by a quiet period of "recalibration," and then—boom—the status quo returns or things escalate even further.

It’s hard not to be cynical about whether these backroom deals actually prevent the worst-case scenarios or if they just delay the inevitable for a few months. Do you think these high-stakes meetings actually influence the actual players on the ground, or is it mostly just optics for the international press?