Personal Politics in the Postwar World: Western Diplomacy Behind the Scenes

Author:   Susanna Erlandsson (Uppsala University, Sweden)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN:  

9781350150744


Pages:   232
Publication Date:   24 February 2022
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
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Personal Politics in the Postwar World: Western Diplomacy Behind the Scenes


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Overview

Unravelling the mechanisms of daily diplomacy in the mid-20th century, this book follows one Dutch diplomatic couple, the van Kleffens, on their postings from the 1930s to the 1950s to offer a new perspective on how non-officials and personal politics shaped the postwar world. Combining private and public source materials, Erlandsson foregrounds the political culture of diplomacy and highlights events and people which have been left off the official record. The book integrates the detailed study of behind-the-scenes diplomatic practice into the larger narrative of traditional diplomatic history, connecting social practices with political outcomes. Exploring how women’s tea drinking was used to achieve post-war foreign policy and how Rosa, a Guatemalan cook, contributed to the international standing of the Netherlands, it offers a more inclusive history by recognising the diplomatic work done by actors who were not diplomats. In doing so it demonstrates the ways in which diplomacy was class-bound, gendered and racialized, and proves that historicizing gender and cultural norms is crucial to understanding political and international history.

Full Product Details

Author:   Susanna Erlandsson (Uppsala University, Sweden)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Academic
Weight:   0.503kg
ISBN:  

9781350150744


ISBN 10:   1350150746
Pages:   232
Publication Date:   24 February 2022
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: The personal politics of daily diplomacy Diplomacy as a gendered institution The micro study as method: background and materials Conceptualizing trust as a bridge between personal and political Setting the scene Part I. The diplomatic couple 1. The persistent notion of the incorporated wife 2. In love and diplomacy 3. Carte blanche? Diplomatic secrecy and marital trust 4. The diplomatic couple as template Concluding remarks on the diplomatic couple II. The diplomatic home 5. Homemaking for diplomats 6. Domestic staff 7. The home as a diplomatic arena Concluding remarks on the diplomatic home Part III. Dinner diplomacy 8. Dinner diplomacy as an everyday practice 9. Diplomatic food Concluding remarks on dinner diplomacy Part IV. Diplomatic aptitude 10. Diplomatic appearances 11. Diplomatic discourse Concluding remarks on diplomatic aptitude Conclusion: Behind the scenes of building the postwar world Everyday power structures in Western diplomacy Political impact of personal relations Diplomacy as a likeminded institution Bibliography Index

Reviews

This superb study demonstrates to the full the value of delving into all aspects of the diplomatic life-world in order to gain a more complete appreciation and understanding of how diplomacy 'works'. The attention to detail is admirable, and the critical judgement is subtle and evident throughout. A wonderful book that looks at first glance like a straightforward diplomatic biography but that actually delivers a far more complex analysis to re-assess diplomatic history and practice in one go. * Giles Scott Smith, Roosevelt Chair in New Diplomatic History, RIAS/Leiden University, The Netherlands * Susanna Erlandsson offers a fascinating portrait of diplomats as fully rounded human beings, showing why and how spouses, cooks, entertaining, dress, and much more are an integral part of international affairs. Personal Politics in the Postwar World will be an essential reference for anyone interested in the art of diplomacy. * Barbara Keys, Professor of History, Durham University, UK * Placing the heterosexual couple - the diplomat and his wife - at the center of mid-century Western diplomacy, Erlandsson provides a superb account of just how integral the diplomatic home, food and family were for diplomatic interactions. A must read for anyone interested in the gendered, racialized and classed micro-foundations of diplomacy. * Ann Towns, Professor of Political Science and Head of GenDip, University of Gothenburg, Sweden *


Author Information

Susanna Erlandsson is a researcher at the Department of History of Uppsala University, Sweden, and editor-in-chief of the leading Swedish historical journal Historisk tidskrift. Her 2015 dissertation Window of Opportunity, a comparative study of Dutch and Swedish security ideas and strategies in the 1940s, won several awards. She has since published extensively on small states as well as on gender and diplomacy.

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