Diplomacy: from cuneiform clay to digital tablets

The origins of diplomacy can be traced back to at least 3,000 years ago, when, in ancient Mesopotamia (now modern Iraq), sovereigns (usually kings and occasionally queens) of political units (usually tribes or city-states) sought recognition and communication with each other through messengers carrying clay tablets in cuneiform script over vast distances. These same processes are the core of contemporary diplomacy. But much has changed. The revolution in communications technology provides political units (now states and organisations) and global citizens with real-time digital, verbal and visual connections. How, why and what the implications of such changes are for future theories and practices of diplomacy is puzzling and a matter of much debate. By taking the longue durée, the long view, and analysing continuities and changes in the forms and functions of diplomacy from its origins to present times, this course aims to engage you in the debate about diplomacy and equip you with ideas that help you develop your own arguments about the theoretical and practical directions that will sustain diplomacy in the digital age, at a time when managing national and global issues cooperatively has never been more critical.