Why do states still need diplomats? Despite instantaneous electronic communication and rapid global travel, the importance of ambassadors and embassies has in many ways grown since the middle of the nineteenth century. However, in theories of international relations, diplomats are often neglected in favor of states or leaders, or they are dismissed as old-fashioned. David Lindsey develops a new theory of diplomacy that illuminates why states find ambassadors indispensable to effective intergovernmental interaction. He argues that the primary diplomatic challenge countries face is not simply communication—it is credibility. Diplomats can often communicate credibly with their host countries even when their superiors cannot because diplomats spend time building the trust that is vital to cooperation. Using a combination of history, game theory, and statistical analysis, Lindsey explores the logic of delegating authority to diplomats. He argues that countries tend to appoint diplomats who are sympathetic to their host countries and share common interests with them. Ideal diplomats hold political preferences that fall in between those of their home country and their host country, and they are capable of balancing both sets of interests without embracing either point of view fully. Delegated Diplomacy is based on a comprehensive dataset of more than 1,300 diplomatic biographies drawn from declassified intelligence records, as well as detailed case studies of the U.S. ambassadors to the United Kingdom and Germany before and during World War I. It provides a rich and insightful account of the theory and practice of diplomacy in international relations.

Contemporary Diplomacy offers a comprehensive introduction to the changing actors, venues, processes and functions of diplomacy in the 21st Century. Aimed at students and practitioners alike, this textbook explores the critical theoretical tools that can be employed to understand diplomacy and its evolution since the end of the Cold War. It also shows how the study of diplomacy can contribute to the analysis of 21st Century conflict and international relations more broadly. The book is divided into 2 main parts: part I focuses on diplomatic actors and venues: from the traditional nation-state actors of classical diplomatic studies to newer types of actor, such as multilateral organizations, supranational polities, global firms, civil society organizations and eminent person diplomats. Part II examines diplomatic processes and functions, reconsidering the core diplomatic functions of representation and communication in light of new communications technologies and the increased importance of public diplomacy. It looks in-depth at specific functional areas of diplomacy - including economic, military and security, and cultural diplomacy Ð and how they are managed. The concluding chapter reflects more broadly on the relationship of diplomatic theory to practice and considers the range of challenges facing diplomats today. This book will be essential reading for students of diplomacy, politics, international relations and conflict studies.

How can a delegation to a conference get its initiative adopted, or another delegation's proposal rejected? How is a conference delegation composed? What is a permanent mission? What effect can an inefficient conference president have? In which way can secretariats of international organizations influence the results of international conferences? The answers to these questions can be found in Johan Kaufmann's path-breaking Conference Diplomacy , originally published in 1968. Conference Diplomacy will be useful to junior and senior diplomats, and to international civil servants. It has found, and will increasingly find, a place in courses on international relations, on negotiations techniques and in teaching for the diplomatic career.

In the first major assessment of diplomatic dialogue since Nicolson's Diplomacy in 1939, Adam Watson traces the changing techniques of diplomacy from ancient times through the 'diplomatic society' of Europe to the present global system. In examining the conventions and institutions which help to shape the international system the author aims not so much to preserve diplomatic order which worked well in the past but rather to identify the continuities and the new conditions which will enable the dialogue to function in the future. He pays special attention to the extension of the dialogue into new fields and to the impact of the newly independent states of the third world. This leads him to argue strongly that the world's growing interdependence has increased rather than lessened the scope of diplomacy in the nuclear age.

Since Xi Jinping’s accession to power in 2012, nearly every aspect of China’s relations with Africa has grown dramatically. Beijing has increased the share of resources it devotes to African countries, expanding military cooperation, technological investment, and educational and cultural programs as well as extending its political influence. This book examines the full scope of contemporary political and security relations between China and Africa. David H. Shinn and Joshua Eisenman not only explain the specific tactics and methods that Beijing uses to build its strategic relations with African political and military elites but also contextualize and interpret them within China’s larger geostrategy. They argue that the priorities of Chinese leaders—including the conflation of threats to the Communist Party with threats to the country, a growing emphasis on relations in the Global South, and a focus on countering U.S. hegemony—have combined to elevate Africa’s importance among policy makers in Beijing. Ranging from diplomacy and propaganda to arms sales and space cooperation, from increasingly frequent People’s Liberation Army Navy port calls in Africa to the rising number of African students studying in China, this book marshals extensive and compelling qualitative and quantitative evidence of the deepening ties between China and Africa. Drawing on two decades of systematic data and hundreds of surveys and in-person interviews, Shinn and Eisenman shed new light on the state of China-Africa relations today and consider what the future may hold.

In the post Cold War, the role of diplomacy has visibly expanded in much more unstable international conditions. This is partly because more complex relationships between a larger number of power centers have emerged including non-governmental organizations as well as states. These developments are adding to the machinery of diplomacy expanding the number of topics of negotiation and modifying the established character of diplomacy in significant ways. This book explores the historical development of diplomacy from the earliest times and shows how it has grown and adapted its methods to the needs of previous international environments. It follows these developments from the late twentieth century and concludes that while diplomacy techniques have adapted in response to very new needs and technological advances in communication, the activity itself remains inevitable and has never been more important.--Publisher description.

The first systematic analysis of American proconsular leadership from the Spanish-American War to the present.

Rethinks how bureaucracy shapes foreign policy - miscalculation is less likely when political leaders can extract quality information from the bureaucracy.