Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines the establishment of international hierarchies in multilateral diplomacy. Vincent Pouliot observes that in any multilateral setting, some state representatives weigh much more heavily than others, and argues that the practice of diplomacy is structured by a largely unspoken hierarchy of standing, which practitioners refer to as the 'pecking order'.
Trade Review'Pouliot's book is a welcome contribution to the international relations (IR) literature on the practice of diplomacy. Few works in the scholarly study of IR attempt to rigorously explain how multilateral diplomacy works and its larger effects. Pouliot's framework for understanding seeks to move beyond structural and agency approaches by integrating social theories to explain diplomacy and outcomes in world politics … In essence, the book seeks to explain 'social theater' by looking closely at the practice of diplomacy … Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.' J. Fields, Choice
'Overall, International Pecking Orders represents a significant contribution to the literature on international practices; the theoretical analysis is innovative, with meticulous, multimethod research on NATO and the UN.' Miles Evers, International Studies Review
Table of ContentsIntroduction: all the world's a stage; Part I. Situations: 1. The politics of multilateral diplomacy; 2. A practice theory of social stratification; Part II. Dispositions: 3. The diplomatic sense of place; 4. A working consensus: the negotiation of the 2010 Strategic Concept and the NATO pecking order; Part III. Relations: 5. Permanent representation: relational structure and practical logics; 6. Clan politics: Security Council reform and the UN pecking order; Part IV. Positions: 7. State practices and multilateral fields; 8. The field logics of multilateral pecking orders: NATO and the UN compared; Conclusion: the miracle of multilateral pecking orders; Appendix: research design, methods and data.
