Department of International Relations and European Studies
Central European University
WHAT IS DIPLOMACY?
Winter 2015/16
MA )
Alexander Astrov
Email:
Course objectives:
Diplomacy is a practice which, as any other practice can be learned and taught. A course dedicated to the learning and teaching of diplomacy in this sense would be titled .How to be a diplomat', for example. However, apart from being a practice, diplomacy is also an institution of international society. To study diplomacy in this sense is to ask a different kind of question: What is diplomacy? What distinguishes it from other institutions of international society, such as war, international law or great-power management? Can diplomacy be distinguished from foreign-policy, and if so, on what grounds? These are theoretical questions. The course explores various attempts at posing and answering them.
Learning outcomes:
Students are not expected to be equally interested in every aspect of the diplomatic theory and practice discussed throughout the course. Rather, they should acquire:
a general grasp of the practice of diplomacy in its place within international society and the various ways of theorising this practice an appreciation of the historically specific, evolving character of diplomacy an understanding of how the evolution of diplomacy is related to the changes in the structure of international society.
Requirements:
Active participation in the seminars - 20%
Presentation - 20%
Midterm essay (circa 5.000 words) - 30%
Final essay (circa 5.000 words) - 30%
Course outline:
Week 1
Seminar 1
Course-introduction
Seminar2
Raymond Aron, War and Peace (New York: Doubleday & Co, 1966): 1-46.
Week 2
Seminar 3
Harold Nicholson, Diplomacy (Washington: Georgetown University).
Seminar 4
José Calvet De Megalhães, The Pure Concept of Diplomacy (New York & London: Greenwood Press, 1988)
Week 3
Seminar 5
Raymond Cohen, .The Great Tradition: The Spread of Diplomacy in the Ancient World'
in Christer Jönsson and Richard Langhorne, eds, Diplomacy, Vol. II: 44-55. Martin Wight, .The States-System of Hellas' in Diplomacy, Vol. II:56-78.
Seminar 6
Dimitri Obolensky, .The Principles and Methods of Byzantine Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. II: 112-129.
Jonathan Shepard, .Information, Desinformation and Delay in Byzantine Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. II: 130-174.
Week 4
Seminar 7
Brian Campbell, .Diplomacy in the Roman World' in Diplomacy, Vol. II: 175-192.
Donald E. Queller, .Medieval Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. II: 193-213.
Seminar 8
Garrett Mattingly, .The First Resident Embassies: Medieval Italian Origins of Modern Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. II: 214-231.
Charles H. Carter, .The Ambassadors of Early Modern Europe: Patterns of Diplomatic Representation in the Early Seventeenth Century' in Diplomacy, Vol. II: 232-250.
Week 5
Seminar 9
Colin Elman and Miriam Fendius Elman, .Diplomatic History and International Relations Theory: Respecting Difference and Crossing Boundaries' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 117-132.
Paul Sharp, .For Diplomacy: Representation and the Study of International Relations' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 208-230.
Seminar 10
Maurice Keens-Soper, .Francois de Collieres and Diplomatic Theory' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 1-24.
Iver B. Neumann, .The English School on Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 92-116.
Week 6
Seminar 11
Hedley Bull, .Diplomacy and International Order' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 75-91.
Hans J. Morgenthau, .Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 61-74.
Seminar 12
Henry Kissinger, .The Congress of Vienna: A Reappraisal' in World Politics 1956 vol. 8 (2): 264-280.
Henry Kissinger, A World Restored (Gloucester: Peter Smith, 1973): 312-332.
Week 7
Seminar 13
Johan Galtung and Mari Holmboe Ruge, .Patterns of Diplomacy: A study of Recruitement and Career Patterns in Norwegian Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 133-174.
Chadwick F. Alger and Steven J. Brams, .Patterns of Representation in National Capitals nd Intergovernmental Organizations' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 175-192.
Seminar 14
Susan Strange, .States, Firms and Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 352-366.
Robert D. Putnam, .Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level Games'
in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 231-263.
Week 8
Seminar 15
Rik Coolsaet, .Transformation of Diplomacy at the Threshold of the New Millennium'
in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 1-24.
Richard Longhorne, .Full Circle: New Principles and Old Consequences in the Modern
Diplomatic System' in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 25-35.
Seminar 16
Geoffrey Wiseman, .”Polylateralism” and New Modes of Global Dialogue'
in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 36-57.
Andrew F. Cooper and Brian Hocking, .Governments, Non-governmental Organisations and the Re-calibration of Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 79-95.
Week 9
Seminar 17
Eytan Gilboa, .Diplomacy in the Media Age: Three Models of Uses and Effects' in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 96-119.
Christer Jönsson, .Diplomatic Signalling in the Television Age' in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 120-136.
Seminar 18
Michael Bruter, .Diplomacy Without a State: The External Delegations of the European
Commission' in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 289-311.
Bertrand Badie, .The European challenge to Bismarckian diplomacy' in International
Politics 2009 vol. 46 (5): 517-526
Week 10
Seminar 19
Alan James, .Diplomacy and International Society' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 193-207.
Paul Sharp, .Who Needs Diplomats? The Problem of Diplomatic Representation' in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 58-78.
Seminar 20
Paul Sharp, .Making Sense of Citizen Diplomats' in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 343-361.
Richard Longhorne, .Current Developments in Diplomacy: Who are the Diplomats Now?' in Diplomacy, Vol. III: 331-342.
Week 11
Seminar 21
Christer Jönsson and Martin Hall, .Communication: An Essential Aspect of Diplomacy' in
Diplomacy, Vol. I: 396-415.
Raymond Cohen, .Diplomacy as Theatre' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 264-278.
Seminar 22
James Der Derian, .Mediating Estrangement: A Theory for Diplomacy' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 279-304.
Costas M. Constantinou, .Diplomatic Representations… or Who Framed the Ambassadors?' in Diplomacy, Vol. I: 305-326.
Week 12
Concluding discussion