Conclusion: The Counter-Revolution in Diplomatic Practice

Abstract

In examining the different functions of diplomacy and how they are pursued, this book has traced in some detail what elsewhere I have called a ‘counter-revolution in diplomatic practice’ (Berridge 2005). As a broad trend, this rejuvenation of some of the key features of traditional diplomacy has gone unnoticed — partly because it has been masked by the attachment of new labels to old procedures, and partly because the novel has a greater fascination than the tried and tested. For those who care to look, however, the evidence of this counter-revolution is unmistakable.