Personalities War And Diplomacy

Combines essays on the "personality dimension" in the 19th and 20th century international history, placing in a proper historical perspective the impact of individual diplomats, politicians and military strategists on foreign policy-making.

Combines essays on the "personality dimension" in the 19th and 20th century international history, placing in a proper historical perspective the impact of individual diplomats, politicians and military strategists on foreign policy-making.

The chapters in this edited volume, individually and collectively, pay homage to Erik Goldstein’s contribution to contemporary scholarship in the fields of international history, diplomatic studies and international security. The book offers insights into the rich tapestry of past and present international relations with differing emphases on political, military and cultural aspects. While some of the chapters explore the twentieth-century British foreign policy apparatus and the different networks of people at work within it, others examine the deeper intellectual and other currents that shaped trans-Atlantic ties in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Geopolitics – in a historiographical perspective and with a focus on Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and East Asia – forms another important strand of this collection. All chapters explore periods of wider systemic change in international politics and thus offer reflections on the essential continuities and discontinuities in great power relations. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Diplomacy & Statecraft.

This is the first full-length book on the concept of “People’s Diplomacy,” promoted by the president of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, at the peak of the Vietnam War from 1965-1972. It holds great appeal for historians, international relations scholars, diplomats, and the general reader interested in Vietnam. A form of informal diplomacy, people’s diplomacy was carried out by ordinary Vietnamese including writers, cartoonists, workers, women, students, filmmakers, medical doctors, academics, and sportspersons. They created an awareness of the American bombardment of innocent Vietnamese civilians, and made profound connections with the anti-war movements abroad. People’s diplomacy made it difficult for the United States to prolong the war because the North Vietnamese, together with the peace movements abroad, exerted popular pressure on the American presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon to end the conflict. It was much more effective than the formal North Vietnamese diplomacy in gaining the support of Westerners who were averse to communism. It damaged the reputation of the United States by casting North Vietnam as a victim of American imperialism.

At a time when the economic troubles and bailouts of Greece and other European economies are casting significant doubt on the future viability of the Eurozone and the EU, it is crucial to examine the origins of the political will and leadership that is necessary to move the integration process forward. This book makes a significant conceptual and empirical contribution by elucidating the extent to which the integration process hinges not on institutions and norms, but on the relations among leaders. Vogt conducts a comparative diplomatic history of three critical junctures in the process of European integration: the creation of the Common Market (1955–1957), British accession (1969–1973), and the introduction of the Euro (1989–1993). He illustrates how personal diplomacy, leadership constellations, and the dynamics among leaders enable breakthroughs or inhibit accords. He also reveals how the EU’s system of top-level decision-making that privileges institutionalised summitry has operated in the past and suggests – in a separate chapter – why it has come to atrophy and prove more dysfunctional of late.

This book contains some 600 entries on a range of topics from ancient Chinese warfare to late 20th-century intervention operations. Designed for a wide variety of users, it encompasses general reviews of aspects of military organization and science, as well as specific wars and conflicts. The book examines naval and air warfare, as well as significant individuals, including commanders, theorists, and war leaders. Each entry includes a listing of additional publications on the topic, accompanied by an article discussing these publications with reference to their particular emphases, strengths, and limitations.

During the Cold War, thousands of musicians from the United States traveled the world, sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s Cultural Presentations program. Performances of music in many styles—classical, rock ’n’ roll, folk, blues, and jazz—competed with those by traveling Soviet and mainland Chinese artists, enhancing the prestige of American culture. These concerts offered audiences around the world evidence of America’s improving race relations, excellent musicianship, and generosity toward other peoples. Through personal contacts and the media, musical diplomacy also created subtle musical, social, and political relationships on a global scale. Although born of state-sponsored tours often conceived as propaganda ventures, these relationships were in themselves great diplomatic achievements and constituted the essence of America’s soft power. Using archival documents and newly collected oral histories, Danielle Fosler-Lussier shows that musical diplomacy had vastly different meanings for its various participants, including government officials, musicians, concert promoters, and audiences. Through the stories of musicians from Louis Armstrong and Marian Anderson to orchestras and college choirs, Fosler-Lussier deftly explores the value and consequences of "musical diplomacy."