Old sources – new approaches: early modern European diplomacy in the international historiography of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries

Over the past three decades, the field of diplomatic history has witnessed a surge in research interest, largely influenced by the linguistic, cultural, anthropological, and gender turns in the humanities and social sciences that occurred during the twentieth century. Those engaged in what is known as the ‘new diplomatic history’ understand diplomacy to be a communicative act, as well as a means of interacting with another culture and, more broadly, with what is considered to be “otherness”. Consequently, the focus is on actors, namely direct participants in this interaction. These include accredited diplomatic representatives, embassy staff, consuls, missionaries, translators and interpreters, merchants, local agents, and women, whose social and cultural capital also influenced interstate, international, and interpersonal relations. The objective of this article is to present an overview of selected academic literature on the history of early modern European diplomacy, as this period saw the emergence of a multitude of diplomatic roles. Having identified these roles, historians then proceed to the study of diplomacy as a complex of social and cultural practices. These include representation, negotiations, drafting reports, information gathering, the establishment of diplomatic networks, writing and translation, the exchange of gifts, the organisation of receptions and balls, and the collection of data, among other activities. To gain a deeper understanding of the subject, historians draw upon the problems and tools of related disciplines, such as sociology and political science, philology and linguistics, and archeology and art history. The author presents a comprehensive review of a range of research topics, including organisational forms, diplomatic practices and the professionalisation of the diplomatic service; ceremonial and symbolic communication; patron-client relationships; cultural transfer and intercultural communication; languages of diplomacy; the perception of the “other”; material aspects of diplomacy; self-perception of diplomatic actors and problems of identity; and confessional and gender factors in diplomacy.