Welcome

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. The contents of the rest of the site can be navigated via the column on the left-hand side.

From the back cover: ‘Probably the most prolific contemporary writer on diplomacy is Professor Geoff R. Berridge … Each of his many books is impeccably written and full of insights into the fascinating formation of modern diplomacy” (Robert William Dry, New York University, USA, and Chairman of AFSA’s Committee on the Foreign Service Profession and Ethics); “I discovered Geoff Berridge’s book on diplomacy after serving as a diplomat for over 30 years. It is well-researched, sophisticated, inspiring and, where the subject invites it, suitably ironic” (Dr Max Schweizer, Head of Foreign Affairs and Applied Diplomacy, ZHAW School of Management and Law, Switzerland); “Berridge’s Diplomacy is an enlightening journey that takes the student, the practitioner and the general reader from the forefront to the backstage of current diplomatic practice. The thoroughly updated text – also enriched with a stimulating new treatment of embassies – is an invaluable guide to the stratagems and outcomes, continuities and innovations, of a centuries’ long process” (Arianna Arisi Rota, Professor of History of Diplomacy, University of Pavia, Italy).

The front cover shows the building used as its headquarters by the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) since 1994. Inspired in design by Art Deco, Mayan and Aztec architecture, it is sometimes described mockingly as ‘Legoland’ but more commonly referred to as ‘Vauxhall Cross’. This is because of its location adjacent to the major crossroads of this name in the Vauxhall district of south-west London; it is also close to Vauxhall Bridge over the River Thames. The building has served as a backdrop for a number of James Bond films. Photograph (cropped slightly for design purposes) by Jim Bowen, 22 November 2007, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic.