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This innovative new book argues that diplomacy, which emerged out of the French Revolution, has become one of the central Ideological State Apparatuses of the modern democratic nation-state.
The book is divided into four thematic parts. The first presents the central concepts and theoretical perspectives derived from the work of Slavoj Zizek, focusing on his understanding of politics, ideology, and the core of the conceptual apparatus of Lacanian psychoanalysis. There then follow three parts treating diplomacy as archi-politics, ultra-politics, and post-politics, respectively highlighting three eras of the modern history of diplomacy from the French Revolution until today. The first part takes on the question of the creation of the term 'diplomacy', which took place during the time of the French Revolution. The second part begins with the effects on diplomacy arising from the horrors of the two World Wars. Finally, the third part covers another major shift in Western diplomacy during the last century, the fall of the Soviet Union, and how this transformation shows itself in the field of Diplomacy Studies. The book argues that diplomacy's primary task is not to be understood as negotiating peace between warring parties, but rather to reproduce the myth of the state's unity by repressing its fundamental inconsistencies.
This book will be of much interest to students of diplomacy studies, political theory, philosophy, and International Relations.
List of contents
Introduction: On the Problems of Diplomacy Part I: What is in a Name? 1. War and Diplomacy 2. Diplomacy as an Ideological State Apparatus 3. The Naming of Diplomacy Part II: Diplomacy as Archi-Politics 4. The Beginnings of Diplomacy 5. Diplomacy and the People Part III: Diplomacy as Ultra-Politics 6. Diplomacy is Dead - Long Live Diplomacy! 7. Diplomacy and the Nuclear Threat Part IV: Diplomacy as Post-Politics 8. Diplomacy for the Next Century 9. Diplomacy and Terrorism in the Digital Age 10. Final Remarks: Enjoy Your Diplomacy!
About the author
Alexander Stagnell is a Senior Lecturer at Södertörn University, Sweden.
Summary
This innovative new book argues that diplomacy, which emerged out of the French Revolution, has become one of the central ideological state apparatuses of the modern democratic nation-state.
