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Formerly a university teacher, I am now a freelance writer specialising in the theory and practice of diplomacy from the earliest times until the present. As well as hoping to encourage the study of diplomacy, this site provides periodic updating of my textbook (see immediately below). This page contains some news and views (‘Blog posts’). The contents of the rest of the site can be navigated via the horizonal menu at the top of this page.

Diplomacy: Theory and Practice

G. R. Berridge Diplomacy 6th edition

6th edition
(Palgrave-Macmillan: Basingstoke and New York, 2022)

After Kissinger’s book, the most cited general work on diplomacy on Google Scholar’s diplomacy page.

Amazon customer reviews of earlier editions can be seen here.

CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE UPDATING

From the back cover:

“This is a highly welcome update for the best general introduction to the theory and practice of diplomacy. It is clear enough to be recommended to undergraduate students, yet sufficiently thoughtful and incisive to be read with profit by practitioners and experts.”
—John W. Young, Emeritus Professor of International History, University of Nottingham, UK

Diplomacy: Theory and Practice is a tour de force in diplomacy scholarship. Geoff Berridge has not only written the definitive text in diplomatic studies; he has done so in a lucid, accessible, and engaging way that sets the gold standard for how books should be written. Weaving together historical cases with contemporary examples, Berridge has given us essential reading for any student of international politics.”
—Marcus Holmes, Associate Professor of Government, College of William & Mary, USA

Israel’s ‘accidental’ attacks on UNIFIL

13 Oct. 2024 The IDF’s current attacks on UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon should come as no surprise. It is evidence of Israel’s long standing hostility to the UN itself.

UN Pact for the Future versus the Usual Suspects

2 October, 2024. Security Council reform was one of the subjects dealt with in the UN’s ‘Pact for the Future’ that was comfortably adopted by consensus in the General Assembly on 22 September 2024. The Pact had been promoted by the Organization’s leadership, nurtured by diplomacy ‘facilitated’ by Germany and Namibia, and had easily overcome last-minute Russian opposition. Even one of the usual suspects happy to stand to attention when Moscow snaps its fingers – or at least adopt a posture of friendly neutrality – misbehaved.

Elon Musk: Public Enemy No. 1

30 August 2024  Elon Musk, the Trump-supporting mega-rich ‘free speech absolutist’ (except when it’s his authoritarian friends who are asking), has been neatly taken down by the estimable Robert Reich. In this piece in The Guardian, he also lists 6 ways in which the ‘unaccountable political power’ produced by Musk’s enormous wealth can be [...]

Lest we forget: The UN Charter

10 July, 2024 At this particularly dangerous juncture in international relations, it is worth re-emphasising the condemnation of aggression by the Charter of the United Nations, in force since 24 October 1945 and to which virtually all states have signed up (the Holy See and Palestine are represented by permanent observer missions).This is why I have just made another link to it via the UN logo now placed at the top of the right-hand sidebar of this website.

A collective noun for diplomats

28 February 2024. There is no collective noun for diplomats in common usage, although some candidates for the title have surfaced over the years. Here I note these, consider some other possibilities and come to no serious conclusion.

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