DIPLOMACY: A HISTORY

For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union foreign affairs have become a major public preoccupation both here and overseas.  Especially after September 11, 2001, Americans have come to recognize with increasing clarity that the capacity to influence the political and economic decisions of other governments is critical to our security and prosperity.

One important way in which we and other societies project influence abroad is through the exercise of diplomacy.  This course will describe the craft of "diplomacy" and review its history and theoretical underpinnings.  Our journey will begin with Machiavelli and end with Condoleezza Rice – while pausing to consider the strengths and weaknesses of such practitioners as Metternich, Bismarck, Wilson and less highly placed diplomats and statesmen.

My hope is that by considering, however briefly, the historical context within which the masters played the game, we will be able to make better sense of the present.

Class is limited to 25 members.

JERRY MONROE joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1959 and served at Embassies in Caracas Santo Domingo, Bonn and Rome as well as at Consulate Generals in Duesseldorf and Hong Kong.  He served a total of twelve years in German-speaking posts, speaks German and Spanish and has had a long interest in German and Diplomatic history.  He was Chief of Mission of the U.S. Mission to the UN food agencies in Rome.  He also taught International Relations at the National Defense University.  His last assignment was as a historian in the State Department’s Historical Office.  Jerry and his wife Evangeline retired from the Foreign Service in 1997 and 1999 respectively, and moved to the Upper Valley shortly thereafter.