Description
Book SynopsisWhat is the value of diplomacy? How does it affect the course of foreign affairs independent of the distribution of power and foreign policy interests? Theories of international relations too often implicitly reduce the dynamics and outcomes of diplomacy to structural factors rather than the subtle qualities of negotiation. If diplomacy is an independent effect on the conduct of world politics, it has to add value, and we have to be able to show what that value is. In Diplomacy's Value, Brian C. Rathbun sets forth a comprehensive theory of diplomacy, based on his understanding that political leaders have distinct diplomatic styles: coercive bargaining, reasoned dialogue, and pragmatic statecraft.
Drawing on work in the psychology of negotiation, Rathbun explains how diplomatic styles are a function of the psychological attributes of leaders and the party coalitions they represent. The combination of these styles creates a certain spirit of negotiation that facilitates
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Rathbun argues that policy makers should think of realism, rationalism, and liberalism not as theories that capture the singular essence of diplomacy but as sets of prescriptions that guide behavior. Summing Up: Recommended.
-- K. M. Zaarour * Choice *
Table of Contents1. The Value and Values of Diplomacy
2. Creating Value: A Psychological Theory of Diplomacy
3. Tabling the Issue: Two Franco-British Negotiations
4. Setting the Table: German Reassurance, British Brokering, and French Understanding
5. Getting to the Table: The Diplomatic Perils of the Exchange of Notes
6. Cards on the Table: The Treaty of Mutual Guarantee and the "Spirit of Locarno"
7. Turning the Tables: Reparations, Early Evacuation, and the Hague Conference
8. Additional Value: The Rise and Fall of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
9. Searching for Stresemann: The Lessons of the 1920s for Diplomacy and the Middle East Peace ProcessReferences
Index
