ABSTRACT
The word ‘diplomacy’ is rooted in Greek (diploma: double-folded document; letter of recommendation or conveying a licence or privilege). Historically, the origins of diplomacy lay with the first decisions of human communities to reach an understanding with their neighbours about the limits of their hunting territories. But even though these early diplomatic exchanges allowed for the establishment of some basic rules of representation, communication and conflict management, they did not result in the creation of any permanent institutions. Basically, diplomatic interaction was not sufficiently frequent or important and hence it lacked the incentives required to develop complex institutional relations. Good faith and the enforcement of the safety regulations were perennial problems, especially when the sanction for the safety of the diplomatic messenger was seen as divine. Since these first stages of interaction, however, diplomacy has changed significantly. These changes will be systematically treated in this chapter, in which developments are described in three distinct diplomatic periods, both inside and outside of the Western world: ancient, medieval and modern diplomacy (before World War I). This task will be accomplished according to three sub-themes: (1) representation procedures – in which we examine the roles, characteristics and perceptions of the diplomat; (2) communication methods – in which we trace key developments and procedures of diplomatic engagement; and (3) conflict management – in which we describe the evolution of various instruments for resolving international disputes.
