This book offers an introductory guide for students to four centuries of diplomatic thought. Since diplomacy as we know it was created during the Renaissance in Italy, a number of major figures have reflected on the place of diplomacy in foreign affairs and the problems associated with its pursuit. These include statesmen, international lawyers and historians, most of whom had experience as diplomats of the first or second rank. This book examines the thought of some of the most important of them, from Niccolò Machiavelli in the early sixteenth century to Henry Kissinger in the late twentieth century.

In mid-twentieth-century Latin America there was a strong consensus between Left and Right&—Communists working under the directives of the Third International, nationalists within the military interested in fostering industrialization, and populists&—about the need to break away from the colonial legacies of the past and to escape from the constraints of the international capitalist system. Even though they disagreed about the desired end state, Argentines of all political stripes could agree on the need for economic independence and national sovereignty, which would be brought about through the efforts of a national bourgeoisie. James Brennan and Marcelo Rougier aim to provide a political history of this national bourgeoisie in this book. Deploying an eclectic methodology combining aspects of the &“new institutionalism,&” the &“new economic history,&” Marxist political economy, and deep research in numerous, rarely consulted archives into what they dub the &“new business history,&” the authors offer the first thorough, empirically based history of the national bourgeoisie&’s peak association, the Confederaci&ón General Econ&ómica (CGE), and of the Argentine bourgeoisie&’s relationship with the state. They also investigate the relationship of the bourgeoisie to Per&ón and the Peronist movement by studying the history of one industrial sector, the metalworking industry, and two regional economies&—one primarily industrial, C&órdoba, and another mostly agrarian, Chaco&—with some attention to a third, Tucum&án, a cane-cultivating and sugar-refining region sharing some features of both. While spanning three decades, the book concentrates most on the years of Peronist government, 1946&–55 and 1973&–76.

Although many early U.S. presidents were avid readers and book collectorsGeorge Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, to name a fewthey usually brought their own books to the White House and removed them at the end of their terms. Finally in 1850, Abigail and Millard Fillmore established the first official White House collection. The library that President and First Lady Fillmore assembled reflects not only their preoccupations and interests, but also those of a number of mid-nineteenth-century Americans. This catalogue of the first White House collection not only reveals much about the first family that established it and the age in which it was assembled, but also provides insight into American library history, reading history, and book trade and distribution networks. Aside from the editor, the contributors are William Allman, Elizabeth Thacker-Estrada, and Sean Wilentz.

Despite post-Cold War arguments about their demise, ‘Great Powers’ not only continue to thrive, with lesser Powers they form the basis of the constellation of global politics. This topical new Handbook illustrates how and why the new international order has evolved – and is still evolving – since the end of the Cold War, through the application of diplomacy and statecraft. Including cutting edge contributions from over 40 scholars, the handbook is structured around seven sections: Context of Diplomacy Great Powers Middle Powers Developing Powers International Organisations and Military Alliances International Economy Issues of Conflict and Co-operation Through analysis of a wide range of case studies, the Handbook assesses the diplomacy and statecraft of individual powers, offering insights into how they function, their individual perception of national interests and the roles they play in modern statecraft. The contributors also seek to evaluate the organizations and contemporary issues that continue to influence the shaping of the new international order. A comprehensive survey of diplomacy across the world, this work will be essential reading for scholars and professionals alike.