Diplomatic tenses

This book discusses changes that have taken place in diplomatic institutions and conventions over thousands of years. It analyses these changes in terms of 'tipping points', which it understands as the culmination of long-term trends.

Iver B. Neumann is Director of The Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway

‘Can Iver Neumann add something new to his already impressive œuvre on the history and practices of diplomacy? Yes, he can: by analysing the history of diplomacy in terms of its social evolution. This book is a must-read not only for students of diplomacy but for anyone interested in the innovative uses of evolutionary thought in the field of international relations.’
Mathias Albert, Professor of Political Science, Bielefeld University

‘Thought-provoking and innovative, this book introduces a social evolutionary account of diplomacy that spans several hundred thousand years. Neumann forcefully challenges a research field that has increasingly turned to micro-level and ethnographic examinations of diplomatic sites – in no small part due to Neumann’s own earlier interventions. Diplomatic tenses raises fascinating questions about the value of very longue durée analyses, pre-historic archaeological data, the concept of tipping points and functionalist arguments for diplomatic studies.’
Ann Towns, Professor of Political Science, University of Gothenburg

'Neumann has staked out a path useful for scholars wishing to experiment with how variable such as population growth, increasing sea levels, and the current COVID-19 pandemic may affect or change diplomacy.'
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy 17 (2022)