DHIS 22A15 - 20th Century Diplomacy

The subject of this course is the history of diplomacy and international relations during the 20th century. The diplomacy we will be exploring will not only be that of relations between states and governments, but a ‘paradiplomacy’ that involves other actors such as from civil society. Together, we will be exploring the concept of ‘diplomaticity’ and answer questions such as ‘who can practice diplomacy’? At the same time, we will be shining a spotlight on how government institutions practice diplomacy and try to answer the question of ‘who determines a country’s foreign policy’?

The course will be divided into three parts, with the first part exploring the idea of the ‘diplomaticity’ of actors and looking at some non-conventional actors in the practice of diplomacy. The second and main part of the workshop will be a chronological overview of diplomacy throughout the 20th century. The history of international relations today looks into ‘profound forces’ including economics, culture, religion, human rights and others, which all have a bearing on the conduct of diplomacy. The final part of the course will see us take a deep dive into some of these, to explore their influence and interdependence with international relations.

Through the prism of diplomatic history, we will also be working on improving our historical writing skills.

Seminar