This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of international diplomacy, covering both theory and practice. This second edition has been revised and updated, with new material on such key contemporary issues as Syria, Ukraine, migration and the South China Sea.

The text summarizes and discusses the major trends in the field of diplomacy, providing an innovative theoretical approach to understanding diplomacy not as a collection of practices or a set of historical traditions, but as a form of institutionalized communication through which authorized representatives produce, manage and distribute public goods. The book:

• Traces the evolution of diplomacy from its beginnings in ancient Egypt, Greece and China to our current age of global diplomacy.


• Examines theoretical explanations about how diplomats take decisions, make relations and shape the world.


• Discusses normative approaches to how diplomacy ought to adapt itself to the twenty-first century, help re-make states and assist the peaceful evolution of international order.

In sum, Understanding International Diplomacy provides an up-to-date, accessible and authoritative overview of how diplomacy works and, indeed, ought to work in a globalized world.

This textbook will be essential reading for students of international diplomacy, and is highly recommended for students of crisis negotiation, international organizations, foreign policy and IR in general.