Old Diplomacy Revisited

"In historical terms, the so-called "old diplomacy" is not really that old - most of its concepts and methods date to the mid-19th century - while the practices of "new diplomacy" emerged only about a generation later. Moreover, "Diplomacy 2.0" and other variants of the post-Cold War era do not actually depart significantly from their twentieth-century predecessor: their forms, particularly in terms of technology, have changed, but their substance has not. In this succinct overview, historian Kenneth Weisbrode reminds us that to understand diplomatic transformations and their relevance to international affairs is to see diplomacy is an art - and that, like most arts, it is adapted and re-adapted with reference to earlier forms. Paradoxically, diplomatic practice is always changing, and always continuous"--