ISD Books

Diplomacy, by Sir Harold Nicolson

    ISD Edition, 1988

In this noted classic, which first appeared in 1939, Sir Harold Nicolson outlines with clarity and wit a history and definition of diplomacy, the art of implementing foreign policy. He traces its development from primitive origins (when the concept of diplomatic immunity perhaps arose from the realization that it was not helpful to kill an emissary before he had delivered his message) to modern times, when diplomatic practice has become highly sophisticated and subject to strict conventions. Nicolson also describes the ideal diplomatist, varying types of national diplomatic styles, and contemporary changes in diplomatic procedure. An epilogue in the third edition, now reissued by the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, discusses postwar changes in the field.

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