Home

Home2024-05-17T20:25:49+01:00

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

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.

The embassy that planned 13 toilets underground

11 February, 2024. In 2015 the Russian Embassy in the Republic of Ireland secured local government approval to quadruple its footprint. However, on 4 March 2020, without publicity, the central government in Dublin overrode this decision and gutted its plans. What were they and why was this action taken?

The diplomatic consequences of Mrs Sacoolas

2 February 2024. In the years after the incident in 2019 in which the wife of an intel officer on a US Embassy annex in central England killed a British motorcyclist by careless driving, I posted three blogs on its diplomatic consequences. This one distils their essence and adds more considered reflections.

New London embassy for China?

27 January, 2024 China’s plans to build a much larger embassy in London on the site of the old Royal Mint Court near Tower Bridge appear to have been abandoned. Why did this happen and what lessons can be learned from the experience?

Go to Top