The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2015

34 JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL The publication of books on diplomacy as a distinct discipline has increased recently. Hopefully, it is a trend that will continue. BY ROBERT DRY Robert Dry, a retired FSO, is chairman of AFSA’s Committee on the For- eign Service Profession and Ethics, and teaches at New York University. W e are witnessing a new high-water mark in important works on diplo- macy not seen since the early 18th century, when De la manière de négocier avec les souverains (“On the Manner of Negotiating with Sovereigns”) and e Ambassador and His Functions , by de François Callière and Abraham de Wicquefort, respectively, made their appearance. In arguing this, I adhere to the distinction between works on diplomacy and those on foreign policy, a distinction often credited to the eminent diplomatic thinker of the 20th century, Sir Harold Nicolson. Granted, the printing presses constantly bring us books and articles on foreign policy and diplomatic history, including the many memoirs of diplomats and statesmen, but the high incidence of works concentrated on diplomacy as a separate discipline or institution is remarkable, and very welcome. Hopefully, this trend will continue and lead to a greater under- standing of the diplomatic instrument of power. Former Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns, in his swan song presentation to State Department employees on DIPLOMACY WORKS: A Practitioner’s Guide to Recent Books FOCUS ON TEACHING DIPLOMACY Oct. 23, used the expression “measures short of war,” alluding to George Kennan’s seminal lecture on preventive diplomacy on Sept. 16, 1946, at the National War College. Kennan’s lec- ture remains noteworthy and should be read by every entrant into the Foreign Service. In many ways, it is a platform to build on. While practitioners of diplomacy may possess an intuitive understanding of “how” their profession works, close study of the institution of diplomacy can improve the knowledge of even seasoned practitioners. What I would have given, when I rst entered the Foreign Service, to have been able to read former FSO Harry Kopp’s Career Diplomacy (Georgetown University Press, 2011); AFSA’s Inside a U.S. Embassy: Diplo- macy at Work, now in its third edition (FS Books, 2011); or any of the works of former Indian ambassador Kishan Rana of the DiploFoundation! Similarly, I would have bene ted from exploring the books I discuss below, which draw on the legacy of earlier diplomatic thinkers. Each provides rich context for the e orts performed daily at diplomatic and consular missions in the eld, or at headquarters.