The Futures of New Diplomatic History in a Shifting International Order

Abstract

This essay reflects on the agenda of globalizing diplomatic history as put forward in the manifesto "Provincializing `New' Diplomatic History." It first emphasizes that the Manifesto overlooks key structural dynamics, such as the transformation of the global order. These structural shifts have the potential to significantly influence the trajectories of global diplomatic history. This signifies that the suggestion for global diplomatic history is not merely an epistemic endeavor, but one that must also grapple with the politics of writing global - diplomatic - history in an age of rising disconnections and in an increasingly post-Western world order. Second, the essay points out that New Diplomatic History remains useful in many contexts, even if in a somewhat parochial form, because in many non-Western settings, it still represents a nascent approach to study diplomatic history. Thus, it still holds the potential to generate novel contributions to the historiography of diplomacy.