Key Studies in Diplomacy is an innovative series of books on the
procedures and processes of diplomacy, focusing on the interaction between states through their accredited representatives, that is, diplomats.
Thus its volumes focus on factors affecting, and the ways in which, foreign policy is implemented through the apparatus of diplomacy—the diplomatic system—in both bilateral and multilateral contexts. But they also examine how diplomats are sometimes able to shape not just the presentation but even the substance
of their states’ foreign policies.
Given that the diplomatic system is worldwide, all the series’ volumes, whatever their individual focuses, contribute to an understanding of the nature of diplomacy. They do so authoritatively, in that they are written by scholars specializing in diplomacy and by former diplomats, and comprehensibly. They emphasize the actual practice of diplomacy and analyze that practice in a clear and accessible manner, hence making them essential
primary reading for both beginning practitioners and advanced level university students.