Diplomacy for the 21st Century

Diplomacy can only gain public esteem by shaking off the intrinsically isolable arguments about virtue and conscience and concentrating on more practical goals. Reciprocal self interest is and should remain the central them. In this wise and eloquent book, the author presents his views on the challenges of diplomacy in the post-Cold War era. The author draws on his years of experience and knowledge to offer an overview of diplomacy as practiced in today’s world. Interweaving historical data and author reviews the Cold War period and its end in 1989, praising the diplomatic restraint in the years that have followed; discusses the ethical confrontation between power and conscience in a wide range of international decisions and actions; points out the difficulty of reconciling the promotion of universal human rights with respect for national sovereignty. The author goes on to deplore the lack of privacy in international negotiations that is the result of an increasingly intrusive media, shows that nuclear warfare is not a restraint against frequent military intervention, and warns against inflated views of what can be expected from the United Nations. He concludes with thoughts about the quest for peace in the middle East and Indo-Pakistan relations. Instructive, erudite, and witty, the authors tour through diplomatic history vividly demonstrates that the wisdom of the past can be immensely valuable as we seek to negotiate and maintain peace in the future. The author’ “Diplomacy for the Twenty-First Century” is part statecraft, part diplomatic history and entirely absorbing. His insights are as lucid as they are elegant, reaffirming his place as one of the most knowledgeable, experienced, wise and eloquent of modern political writers in the field so his reflections on diplomatic challenges in the 21st century are uncommonly perspective, rewarding and readable.