The Culture of Diplomacy

The conference builds upon the recent ‘cultural turn’ in diplomatic studies that has seen more innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to a subject that was once viewed in heavily bureaucratic and constitutional terms. Scholars are increasingly appreciating the importance of ritual and other forms of symbolic communication in diplomatic practices and the role of diplomatic processes in cultural exchanges. Diplomats were important political brokers whose actions could have profound implications for international relations, but they played an equally important role in the transfer and adaptation of cultural ideas and artefacts through their activities as cultural agents, authors and brokers. The profound impact of diplomacy on culture in this period is, moreover, seen in the increasing prominence of representations of diplomacy in literature and a range of other media. The aim of this conference is to further our understanding of early modern diplomatic practices, of the dynamics of diplomatic exchanges both within and without Europe, and how diplomatic ideas and practices interacted with other cultural and political processes. The keynote lecture ‘Diplomacy as a Social Practice: Recent Research Perspectives’ was delivered by Professor Christian Windler (Bern). The conference featured two panel discussions: one on the impact of the ‘diplomatic moment’ and another on future directions in diplomatic studies. Papers and panels addressed aspects of diplomatic culture in Europe and the wider world including gender, gifts, material culture, the dissemination of information, archival practices, international law, cross cultural exchanges and translation, as well as the impact of diplomacy on literary writing and representations of diplomacy. The paper abstracts are available at: http://www.textualambassadors.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/abstracts1.pdf

British diplomatic wives of the early nineteenth century were under increasing pressure to perform their public duties to higher standards of accountability. This article examines the embassies in Paris led by two women-Elizabeth Stuart and Harriet Granville-to ascertain how they negotiated the expectations of their post with respect to class and gender norms. Their records illustrate how new standards of state service could be set for women and how women's hospitality work in the service of diplomacy could make it a more consultative political domain. I n 1815, the Congress of Vienna officially ended twenty-two years of war and revolution. It was accompanied by the inauguration of a new age in international relations wherein peace was to be kept by a collective security network of great powers. Cooperation amongst the main players-Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia-was to be ensured by better daily communication and regular meetings between heads of state. Much is known about the Congress System, which kept the peace in Europe until the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1853. 1 This article deals instead with the day-to-day representative diplomacy carried out by the nineteenthcentury embassy, in which the time and skills of women played a crucial role. This is well documented in the private papers of two British women: Elizabeth, Baroness Stuart de Rothsay and Henrietta, Countess Granville, who took turns occupying the British embassy in Paris between 1815 and 1841. The first, gracious and soignée, became a role-model in the service for her sociable dedication to duty. The second demonstrated how public relations work could be intelligently and effectively undertaken by a more retiring personality.

Performances of Peace: Utrecht 1713, 2000

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Journal of early modern history, 2019

This special issue has been motivated by the drive to contextualize the role of individuals of various backgrounds in early modern foreign relations. All contributions cover a broad geographic scope and stress the impact of non-European practices and stages for the study of early modern foreign relations. Four thematic articles follow diverse diplomatic actors, ranging from non-elite envoys to chartered companies, Catholic friars and ministers on ships, to foreign courts, and behind their desks. They provide insights into these individual actors' functions and achievements and raise questions about social belonging and knowledge channels. The introduction below portrays the development of an actor-oriented research angle in the field of New Diplomatic History over the past decades and addresses blurring concepts and over-generalizations. It attempts to redefine the heterogeneous group of early modern diplomatic actors as products of their involvement in political and material struggles, both at home and abroad.

This chapter deals with the development of the concept of diplomacy. The focus is on how a specific understanding of diplomacy emerged and has developed over the last 250 years. Detailing first the etymological roots, the chapter deals primarily with how “diplomacy” emerged as a derogatory term during the revolutionary period, and how its meaning was immediately challenged by revolutionaries seeking to replace the “old” diplomacy with a “new” one. Calls for “new diplomacy” have been many in the ensuing centuries, but the way in which diplomacy itself has changed content is evident in that the calls are now for reform, rather than for revolution and/or abolishment.

Sir Henry Wotton, a seventeenth-century provost of Eton College is famous for his comment that “An ambassador is an honest man, sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.” Since then, the art of diplomacy has not improved its reputation. And yet for some commentators the most notable characteristic of diplomats is not their duplicity but rather their obsolescence. As Sir Harold Nicolson observed in the mid-1960s, critics of diplomacy have contended that the development of modern communications has rendered the resident diplomat defunct. More recent events have brought the role of resident diplomats into question for a variety of reasons, from egregious violations of diplomatic immunity to overt politicization of the diplomatic corps e.g. the violent death of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens in Libya (2012); the failure to confirm dozens of Trump administration nominees (2017-19); the resignation of the British Ambassador to Washington, Sir Kim Darroch (2019); and the involvement of U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland in the Ukraine controversy (2019). This seminar course will encourage students to consider whether diplomacy deserves the reputation that it has acquired over the centuries, and explore whether diplomacy is still relevant in contemporary international society. Students will engage with a variety of sources such as newspaper reports, diplomatic cables and memoranda, memoirs, and monographs. They will learn how to write in various forms, including diplomatic briefs as well as traditional academic essays.

2010

Eastern European History Review, 2021

Il Comitato redazionale e scienti co è lieto di presentare al pubblico la rivista scienti ca Eastern European History Review. Con un carattere internazionale e interdisciplinare, una cadenza annuale e una fruibilità open access la rivista focalizza i propri interessi sulle dinamiche occorse nell'Europa Orientale durante tutta l'età moderna (XIV-XIX). Eastern European History Review è espressione del Centro Studi dell'Università della Tuscia CESPoM (Centro Studi sull'età dei Sobieski e della Polonia Moderna) nato nel  per intuizione del Prof. Gaetano Platania, Direttore Emerito della Rivista. L'iniziativa editoriale che presentiamo nasce dall'evidente mancanza in Italia di una rivista scienti ca relativa alla storia dell'Europa centro-orientale in Età Moderna, nonostante la penisola abbia giocato un ruolo fondamentale per la Storia e la Cultura di una parte integrante del continente, a torto considerata come lontana e periferica. Consapevoli di questo, il Comitato ha posto quale obiettivo primario della Eastern European History Review quello di off rire uno spazio di ri essione e di discussione su temi che appartengono alla storia dell'Europa centro-orientale, e insieme alle relazioni-politiche e culturali-che questa vasta area del Vecchio Continente ha avuto con l'occidente d'Europa, e l'Italia in particolare, incoraggiando il dialogo tra studiosi e esperti di settore, e tra diff erenti approcci della ricerca scienti ca. Il Comitato Redazionale e Scienti co EASTERN EUROPEAN HISTORY REVIEW: THE JOURNAL  e Editorial and Scienti c Board are proud delighted to present the Eastern European History Review under the aegis of Sette Città Editore.  e Eastern European History Review is an international and interdisciplinary annually online and open access peer-reviewed journal about studies on Ceantral and Eastern Europe in the Modern Age (XIV-XIX).  e Journal is also the expression of the Study Center CESPoM (Centro Studi sull'età dei Sobieski e della Polonia Moderna-Center Study on the Age of Sobieski and Modern Poland) of the University of Tuscia, born in , from an idea of Prof. Gaetano Platania, today Director Emeritus of this journal. It publishes articles with signi cant approaches and original interpretations in all research elds concerning Central and Eastern Europe, with speci c attention to the History sciences.  e editorial initiative we present comes from the obvious lack of a journal, in Italy, concerning the history of Central and Eastern Europe during the Modern Age, this despite its fundamental role in the history and culture of that part of the continent, wrongly considered distant and peripheral. Quite the contrary is true, in fact. Main objective of the journal is to create a space for re ection and discussion on topics pertaining to Central and Eastern Europe, but also relations with Continental Europe, encouraging dialogue between scholars and experts in the eld, and between diff erent approaches of scienti c research.