Description

By (author) Mitchell, A. Wess

A captivating history of diplomacy—and an urgent reminder of why we need to revive its lost arts to survive in a dangerous era of great power competition

From the beginning of time, human societies have found themselves confronted by enemies too numerous or ferocious to defeat solely by force of arms. In these dramatic moments, wise leaders have turned to diplomacy to rearrange the gameboard in their favor and stymie seemingly unstoppable foes. In Great Power Diplomacy, American historian and diplomat A. Wess Mitchell recounts the forgotten story of how history’s most legendary empires have used diplomacy as a tool of grand strategy to outwit, outmaneuver, and outlast militarily superior opponents.

Through fifteen centuries of history, Great Power Diplomacy recreates the perilous junctures, colorful personalities, and intricate statecraft that led to some of history’s most stunning diplomatic achievements—and greatest disasters. The protagonists include giants like Richelieu, Metternich, Bismarck, and Kissinger, but also a lesser-known cast of scoundrels, eunuchs, drunkards, and fools. At every turn, fortune favored those great powers with the foresight and dexterity to build winning alliances, splinter enemy coalitions, and, when necessary, make peace with their bitterest foes.

Diplomacy of this kind has become a lost art in recent years as Western elites embraced the illusion that globalization and the spread of democracy would create a borderless world where nations would live in harmony and war would be abolished from the human story. But, as Great Power Diplomacy reveals, we will need to rediscover the secrets of skillful statecraft as the world enters an unstable new era in which continent-sized great powers compete for territory, resources, and prestige. By recalling diplomacy’s rich past, we can equip ourselves for a more dangerous future.

Review quote:
“Mitchell offers a compelling argument for diplomacy as a strategic tool when challenges outstrip the resources available to meet them. The author shows how statesmen have managed security problems, from antiquity to the 1970s, and distills the principles for effective practice.”
—William Anthony Hay, Wall Street Journal

Review quote:
“Mitchell’s Great Power Diplomacy represents an important, timely and invaluable addition to the library of diplomacy. . . . It offers essential lessons for decision makers, diplomats and interested citizens as the world enters into a new stage of world history. Mitchell has performed an exceptional service in drawing out the important lessons that human history offers us to address the challenges of our time. . . . Great Power Diplomacy is a resounding reaffirmation of the value and importance of diplomacy as an indispensable component of national power not just in the past but even more so today. The skills of its practitioners may need rejuvenating. But there is no denying that diplomacy ultimately holds solutions to the problems of today.”
—Ambassador Gary Grappo, Cipher Brief

Review quote:
“What Mitchell has done in this book about diplomacy is what Carl von Clausewitz wishes he could have done with On War.”
—Keith Johnson, Foreign Policy

Review quote:
“This richly researched book offers a series of detailed portraits of leaders who used the tools of diplomacy to fend off rival great powers.”
—G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs

Review quote:
“A brilliant historical study. . . . Mitchell is to be congratulated for a thorough and precise study of the tenor and actual practices of diplomacy from Roman times to the modern era. . . . Highly recommended.”

Biographical note:

A. Wess Mitchell is a historian and diplomat. He served a