The Diplomats' World

A Cultural History of Diplomacy, 1815-1914

Markus Mösslang and Torsten Riotte

German Historical Institute

Studies of the German Historical Institute, London

Written by international experts on international and diplomatic history
Original research based on archival sources
Breaks new ground in the study of diplomacy

The Diplomats' World

A Cultural History of Diplomacy, 1815-1914

Markus Mösslang and Torsten Riotte

German Historical Institute

Studies of the German Historical Institute, London

Description

This volume explores the history of nineteenth-century diplomacy and in a new and innovative way. Drawing on the diplomats' many and varied encounters between their own individual and professional circles and the 'wider world', this study discusses diplomacy as a part of the cultural history of politics. While many modern works on foreign affairs marginalize the nature of diplomatic practice, this volume links form and content, presenting diplomacy as both a real world experience and a structural element in international relations. All sixteen essays share a common interest in the interdependencies between individual personalities, experiences, and structural context and their relevance to the conduct of diplomacy and, ultimately, the outcome of diplomatic events. Among the topics covered are the social history and the operating norms of the diplomatic establishment, the influence of the public sphere on the conduct of diplomacy, the role of etiquette and protocol in diplomatic encounters, and the impact of traditions and ideology, and administrative regulations and local necessities on diplomatic practice. The case studies illustrate the close links between official and sometimes not so official interstate relations in the period between the Congress of Vienna and the outbreak of the First World War. The way in which the transformation of the political landscape affected political decision-making is discussed not only for the European great powers, but also as an international and global phenomenon. The comparative approach of this volume permits the inclusion of secondary European states such as Switzerland and non-European states in America, Asia, and North Africa. Diplomacy is thus presented as a transnational phenomenon in its own right.

The Diplomats' World

A Cultural History of Diplomacy, 1815-1914

Markus Mösslang and Torsten Riotte

German Historical Institute

Studies of the German Historical Institute, London

1: Introduction: The Diplomats' World, Markus Mösslang and Torsten Riotte
Part I: The Diplomatic Establishment
2: 'Outdoor Relief for the Aristocracy'? European Nobility and Diplomacy, 1850-1914, Thomas G. Otte
3: The Culture of Diplomacy and Reform in the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Office, 1867-1914, William D. Godsey, Jr.
4: The Art of Diplomacy: British Diplomats and the Collection of Italian Renaissance Paintings, 1851-1917, Saho Matsumoto-Best
Part II: Diplomacy and the Public Sphere
5: Mobs and Diplomats: The Alabama Affair and British Diplomacy, 1865-1872, William Mulligan
6: The Public Challenge to Diplomacy: German and British Ways of Dealing with the Press, 1890-1914, Dominik Geppert
Part III: Public Politics and Diplomatic Protocol
7: The Diplomat as 'an actor on a great stage before all people'? A Cultural History of Diplomacy and the Portsmouth Peace Negotiations of 1905, Susanne Schattenberg
8: The Power of Protocol: On the Mechanisms of Symbolic Action in Diplomacy in Franco-German Relations, 1871-1914, Verena Steller
Part IV: Diplomatic Encounters
9: The Role of Diplomatic Practice and Court Protocol in Anglo-Japanese Relations, 1867-1900, Antony Best
10: Oriental Slowness? Friedrich Rosen's Expedition to the Sultan of Morocco's Court in 1906, Sabine Mangold
Part V: Representing the Republic
11: US Diplomatic Etiquette during the Nineteenth Century, David Paull Nickles
12: On Special Mission: Switzerland and its Diplomatic System, Claude Altermatt
Part VI: Outsiders in the Diplomats' World
13: The Social History of British Diplomats in North Africa and how it Affected Diplomatic Policy, C. R. Pennell
14: Crossing the Atlantic: Bavarian Diplomacy and the Formation of Consular Services Overseas, 1820-1871, Martin Ott
15: Nation, Class, and Diplomacy: The Diminishing of the Dragomanate of the British Embassy in Constantinople, 1810-1914, G. R. Berridge
16: 'While I am in it I am not of it': A Naval Attaché's Reflections on the Conduct of British Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, 1906-1908, Matthew S. Seligmann

The Diplomats' World

A Cultural History of Diplomacy, 1815-1914

Markus Mösslang and Torsten Riotte

German Historical Institute

Studies of the German Historical Institute, London

Author Information

Markus Mösslang, Fellow of the German Historical Institute London, and Torsten Riotte, Lecturer in Modern European History, University of Frankfurt am Main

Contributors:

Claude Altermatt, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Berne.
G. R. Berridge, University of Leicester.
Antony Best, London School of Economics
Dominik Geppert, Free University of Berlin.
William D. Godsey, Jr., Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna
Sabine Mangold, University of Wuppertal
Saho Matsumoto-Best, Nagoya City University, Japan
Markus Mösslang, German Historical Institute London
William Mulligan, University of Glasgow
David Paull Nickles, Office of the Historians, US Department of State
Martin Ott, University of Munich
Thomas G. Otte, University of East Anglia
C. R. Pennell, University of Melbourne
Torsten Riotte, University of Frankfurt am Main
Susanne Schattenberg, Humboldt University Berlin
Matthew S. Seligmann, University of Northampton
Verena Steller, Ruhr University Bochum

The Diplomats' World

A Cultural History of Diplomacy, 1815-1914

Markus Mösslang and Torsten Riotte

German Historical Institute

Studies of the German Historical Institute, London

Reviews and Awards

"...studded with gems...excellent." - H-Net Reviews

"Superbly researched and so rife with new material...[a] spectacular building block of scholarship." - Alice-Catherine Carls, The Historian

"a collection that all scholars of nineteenth-century international history would do well to consult" - F. R. Bridge, International History Review

"fascinating reading for anyone interested in international history ... I thoroughly recommend it." - Alan Sked, English Historical Review 512 (Feb 2010). Quote loaded, 05/10/2012