This course offers detailed examination of examples of diplomacy, both routine and crisis, with a view to identifying lessons which practitioners might draw for the future. These case studies may include, but are not limited to:

• the crafting of arrangements and institutions for the maintenance of order in the 19th and 20th centuries;
• European crises of the late 1930s;
• the Cuban Missile crisis;
• ‘shuttle diplomacy’ in the Middle East;
• multilateral trade negotiations;
• the use of ‘Good Offices Diplomacy’
• by the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan;
• the management of political tensions in South Asia;
• the crafting and implementation of transition programs for Cambodia and East Timor;
• the efforts to generate a response to the Rwandan genocide in 1994; and
• bargaining and negotiation in the UN Security Council prior to the outbreak of war in Iraq in March 2003.

A great deal of the study of diplomacy has been historical in approach, and there is a rich tradition of examination of past episodes of diplomatic interaction so that lessons can be drawn on a wide range of issues. To make best use of this material, however, one needs to move beyond simple accounts of ‘who said what to whom’, and instead locate episodes in appropriate historical and theoretical contexts.’

This course is concerned to do just that. While it begins with discussion of some classic episodes in diplomatic endeavour—the Congress of Vienna, the Versailles conference, and the Munich agreement—the main emphasis is on exercises in diplomacy since the Second World War. Some of these are of interest because of the political significance of the exercises. Others are of interest because they raise questions about the adequacy of institutional frameworks for diplomatic action, or highlight profound moral challenges that diplomats may on occasion be required to confront.

Written work of 5000 words

Students undertaking this course could expect a workload of 10 hours a week.  This is inclusiveof actual contact hours for lectures and also out of class preparation time.

A compilation of prescribed readings will be distributed to students at the beginning of the semester.

For a general overview, students may find it useful to consult G.R. Berridge, Diplomacy in Theory and Practice (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005). This is very usefully complemented by G.R. Berridge and Alan James, A Dictionary of Diplomacy (London: Palgrave, 2003). For periodic updates to these works, see www.grberridge.co.uk.

Deliver Mode

On campus, Semester 1.