The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015 37 (Palgrave, 2010), is almost certainly required reading for almost all courses in diplomacy in the English-speaking world. Unlike the tomes described above, Berridge’s treatment is succinct, yet it covers the essential ground. Its centerpiece is diplomatic negotiation. I also recommend two other recent Berridge works: e Counter-Revolution in Diplomacy and Other Essays (Palgrave, 2011) and Embassies in Armed Con ict (Palgrave, 2012). All diplomats should read the latter book just in case they one day nd themselves serving in a country embroiled in war. My only criticism of these books is that they are costly. Get your library to buy them for you. Foundational Approaches For those who seek to teach a foundational course in diplomacy covering a larger palette, there are now a number of competitors to Berridge. ese include Geo rey Pigman’s Contemporary Diplomacy (Polity, 2011); Jean-Robert Leguey-Feilleux’s e Dynamics of Diplomacy (Lynne Rienner, 2008); and— probably the most readable and interesting account—former Canadian diplomat Daryl Copeland’s Guerrilla Diplomacy: Rethinking International Relations (Lynne Rienner, 2009). Even newer works include Corneliu Bjola and Markus Kornprobst’s superb treatment of diplo- macy, Understanding International Diplomacy: eory, Practice and Ethics (Routledge, 2013) and—my hands-down favorite and one of the texts I require my students to read— Diplomacy in a Globalizing World: eories and Practices (Oxford University Press, 2012), edited by scholars Pauline Kerr and Geo rey Wiseman. Kerr and Wiseman have brought together 23 essays by experts in the eld of diplomacy. ese were all subject to strict editorial review, enhancing accessibility for those new to the subject. e book has a clear logical structure, as each chapter builds on the earlier ones. Among the topics covered is East Asian diplomacy, a subject modern students of diplomacy would do well to spend some time on. And as a bonus, the book includes an instructor’s guide with supplemental mate- rial. Finally, I would like to commend the contributions of a retired Indian ambassador who now devotes himself to teach- ing and writing about the practical aspects of diplomacy, Kis- Each of Prof. Geo‹ R. Berridge’s many books is impeccably written and full of insights into the fascinating formation of modern diplomacy. han Rana. Ambassador Rana has written a series of books, the most recent of which is 21st Century Diplomacy: A Practitioner’s Guide (Continuum, 2011; part of the Key Studies in Diplomacy Series edited by Professor Lorna Lloyd), that are true go-to guides for every diplomat. I would be remiss, however, if I left readers with the impression that these new volumes in any way supplant the great classics, such as Sir Harold Nicol- son’s Diplomacy ; George Kennan’s lectures from his service at the National War College following World War II, including “Measures Short of War”; and Henry Kissinger’s Diplomacy (Simon & Schuster, 1994). ose are all on par with the seminal works of de Calliéres and de Wicquefort I mentioned at the beginning of this essay. at said, books are far from the only excellent materials available about diplomacy. Among the many periodicals practitioners will nd useful is e Hague Journal of Diplomacy (Brill Publishers), specially designed to capture research into diplo- macy. Professor Paul Sharp, author of Diplomatic eory of International Relations (Cambridge, 2009), and Professors Jan Melissen and Geo rey Wiseman provide the editorial steward- ship of e Hague Journal. I particularly commend the special edition devoted to American diplomacy (Vol. 6; Nos. 3-4, 2011), now available as a book, American Diplomacy (Martinus Nijho , 2012). Add to the list online publications from institutes around the world—from the U.S. Army’s Strategic Studies Institute and the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, to Clingendael and the Norwegian Institute of International A airs—and professional diplomats will nd much to support and develop their knowl- edge and skills. n