Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
This is the only book that explains both what diplomacy is and how it is organised across the world. It’s a thick book, and it’s full of details and documents about all the world organisations – but it is an extremely interesting account of how diplomacy works and what its machinery does. As a diplomat I found that people don’t really understand what diplomats do.
Shall we start with the book that dates back to 1917, Satow’s Diplomatic Practice?
Satow’s was re-edited last year by Sir Ivor Roberts, the president of Trinity College, Oxford. It is the only book that explains both what diplomacy is and how it is organised across the world, with the UK at the centre. It’s a thick book, and it’s full of details and documents about all the world organisations – but it is an extremely interesting account of how diplomacy works and what its machinery does. As a diplomat I found that people don’t really understand what diplomats do. No Joe Bloggs sitting in the pub is going to read Satow’s Diplomatic Practice, but if you pick through it you will find some fascinating glimpses into what actually goes on in embassies, in international organisations, in governments when it comes to international relations.
Does the book home in on certain historical incidents or episodes? How is it organised?
It follows a fairly standard content list, which Satow originally put together in 1917, and has now been updated. It goes through a history of diplomacy and what diplomacy does and how it deals with politics and power. The book talks about the machinery of diplomatic relationships in countries, it talks about the technical side of diplomacy and its immunities, the way that embassies work in countries. It sets out in quite a lot of detail what the international organisations are and how they work.
And the book is still relevant even though it dates from so long ago? Does it have relevance in the internet age?
It’s been brought up to date six times, so this edition is from 2009 and it’s fully fresh and absolutely up to date. Your question about the relevance of diplomacy is a different one from the value of Satow’s book on diplomacy. Satow is explaining how diplomacy works and how diplomats work. What diplomacy achieves and why it’s necessary is a slightly different question.
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Jeremy Greenstock joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1969 and served in the British embassies in Washington DC, Paris, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. He was United Kingdom Ambassador to the United Nations from 1998 to 2004 where he attended over 150 meetings of the United Nations Security Council. From 2001 to 2003, he was Chairman of the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee. In September 2003, Greenstock was appointed the UK’s Special Representative for Iraq. He has stated publicly that British and American leaders had known since 1998 that Saddam Hussein had no nuclear or chemical weapons capabilities or programmes.
