Diplomatic theory and practice
From our blog
Diplomatic immunity: The reality of the sources of the law
It is generally understood that the source of the law on diplomatic immunity (DI) is the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Immunity (VCDR), and the immunities of consular officers is the Vienna Convention on Consula...
Are international immunities of heads of state and government officials undergoing a major change?
18 July 2021
Diplomatic law, Diplomatic theory and practice, International relations, law and politics, Privileges and immunities
The immunities from criminal and civil liability of heads of state and senior government officials (such as the minister of foreign affairs) are set out in customary international law, not treaties or conventions; t...
[Podcast] The history of drinks and diplomacy: An interview with Tom Standage
05 April 2021
Diplomacy · A history of drinks and diplomacy: An interview with Tom Standage In January 2021, Diplo began a series of online discussions titled History of Diplomacy and Technology led by Dr Jovan Kurbalija...
Prehistory: The birth of diplomacy and early ‘technologies’
03 March 2021
When did diplomacy begin? To find how diplomacy began, we need to go back to prehistoric times and look at the developments which nurtured proto-diplomacy. Behavioral sciences show that cooperation and peaceful con...
Training and courses
Events
Resources
2019
Diplomatic Notebooks 1, 1958-1960: The view from Ankara
Zeki Kuneralp (1914-1998) was one of Turkey’s most gifted, well-liked and influential diplomats of the second half of the twentieth century. This book, dispassionately edited, introduced and annotated by his son, the scholar-publisher Sinan Kuneralp, is the first of ... Read more...
2019
Diplomatic Security under a Comparative Lens – Or Not?
“Diplomatic security” is the term now usually preferred to “diplomatic protection” for the steps taken by states to safeguard the fabric of their diplomatic and consular missions, the lives of their diplomatic and consular officers, and the integrity of their c... Read more...
2019
Brian Barder’s Diplomatic Diary
Sir Brian Barder, the senior British diplomat and author of the always sage and sometimes gripping What Diplomats Do, died in 2017 but, courtesy of the professional editorial hand of his daughter Louise, has left us another treat. This is what he called a diary and whi... Read more...
2017
The Summer Capitals of Europe, 1814-1919
This is an original work, meticulously researched, rich in detail, and written in a clear and – here and there – refreshingly pungent style. Soroka is a Russian scholar but at ease in English.... Read more...