DiploNews – Issue 170 – 1 November 2010
Online Study for the New Year
Start planning now to make the most of 2011! You are invited to apply for the following courses beginning
the week of 21 February 2011:
- Diplomatic Theory and Practice
- Public Diplomacy
- NEW! Multilateral Diplomacy II: Current Issues in the United Nations
These courses are available as University of Malta Accredited Courses (application deadline 20 December 2010) and as Diplo Certificate Courses (application deadline 17 January 2011). For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses website.
An Introduction to Internet Governance
Last week, DiploFoundation launched the IG Book blog – https://igbook.diplomacy.edu – the online companion to Jovan Kurbalija's book, An Introduction to Internet Governance. The new portal gathers blogs on current Internet governance issues, which are linked to sections in the book. Diplo invites viewers to comment on the blogs and to share the blogs and comments via Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. Viewers can also download the fourth edition of the book in English or in French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, and Portuguese, in PDF format.
Books on Diplomacy in November
As we know that diplomats have little time to fit reading and study into their schedules, we hope that a monthly review of new publications may assist in choosing some of the most relevant. This time the focus is on two overview, introductory works to the world of diplomacy and strategy.
Keith Hamilton and Richard Langhorne. The Practice of Diplomacy: Its Evolution, Theory and Administration. London: Routledge, 2010.
This is the second edition of a classic textbook that follows the evolution of diplomacy from the ancients to modern-day practices. The authors have organised it according to more or less distinct periods of diplomatic practice: the ancient world, Renaissance diplomacy, so-called old diplomacy, so-called new diplomacy, and present-day global diplomacy. Due to this organisation, it is particularly valuable in highlighting the development of and changes in diplomatic practices. The overviews are invaluable for a full appreciation of the craft of diplomacy. The second edition includes additional points on ancient and non-European diplomacy, diplomacy and human rights, and newly emerging topics in diplomacy such as transformational diplomacy and the revolution in electronic communication. More information is available from the publisher’s website.
Beatrice Heuser. The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
The Evolution of Strategy offers a comprehensive and accessible overview to the development of Western strategic thinking. Offering a historic account, the author traces the evolution of the philosophies of strategy and the morals of war and combines this evolution with the consequences of technological advancement. Heuser starts by looking at thinking about warfare in antiquity and the Middle Ages, then looks at the Napoleonic age, and concludes with a discussion of maritime, air, and nuclear warfare, in conjunction with asymmetric and small wars. She ends her ambitious account with an overview of the current search for a new paradigm and the recurrent themes in the debate. More information can be found at the Cambridge University Press online catalogue.
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