ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a particular Western tradition of diplomatic thinking and practice based around the nation-state, and the relation of diplomacy and security in promoting national interests and objectives. It argues that the European concept of diplomacy, indeed of diplomatic relations as a whole, arose from the specific historical contingencies of Europe’s own development. The themes of Cardinal Richelieu’s foreign policy and diplomacy echo through European history until the end of the twentieth century. The nature of European geopolitics meant that for much of the modern period European diplomacy has focused on the creation and disruption of coalitions. Diplomacy in Europe has also focused largely on, if not exclusively, in terms of security, a consequence of the constant conflict to achieve, or block, regional hegemony. ‘Grand strategy’ is essentially an American term, but useful in discussing how European statesmen have brought together the tools of their international relations.
