Book Reviews

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy regularly publishes reviews of recent books within the field of diplomacy and global affairs, written in English, Spanish, French, or German.

Book Reviews published in the Journal are typically 800-1,000 words, if based on one book, or about 5,000 words, if based on a thematic collection of 3-5 books.

We particularly welcome submissions that:

• Connect academic insights to current diplomatic practice;
• Engage with underrepresented authors or perspectives;
• Compare works across languages, regions, or disciplines.

Featured Reviews published on the HJD blog are typically shorter, more argumentative tone. They may engage not only with books, but also with documentaries, art, and other media that contribute to contemporary debates on diplomacy and global affairs.

——

If you are interested in publishing a book review or a featured review, please send an e-mail to our editors Sophie Vériter and Léa Glasmeyer referencing the book’s full details and explaining your motivation to write a review for our journal or our blog.

Prospective authors should familiarise themselves with the journal’s Instructions for Authors and are invited to consult the Digital Bookshelf for inspiration. 

To read our previously published book reviews, please see the list below.

——

A

• Acharya, Amitav (2014) Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the Problem of Regional Order.   (Reviewed by William J. Jones in Vol. 12, IV.)
• Alhashimi, Hana, Andres Fiallo, Toni-Shae Freckleton, Mona Ali Khalil, Vahd Mulachela, and Jonathan Viera, eds. (2021) The Future of Diplomacy after COVID-19: Multilateralism and the Global Pandemic.   (Reviewed by Lise H. Andersen in Vol. 18, I.)
• Amen, Mark, Noah J. Toly, Patricia L. McCarney, and Klaus Segbers, eds. (2011) Cities and Global Governance: New Sites for International Relations.   (Reviewed by Michele Acuto in Vol. 7, II.)
• Amiri, Sohaela, and Efe Sevin, eds. (2020) City Diplomacy: Current Trends and Future Prospects.   (Reviewed by Daniel Pejic in Vol. 16, II-III.)
• Arriola, Leonardo, Martha Johnson, and Melanie Phillips, eds. (2021) Women and Power in Africa: Aspiring Campaigning, and Governing.   (Reviewed by Eva Froneberg in Vol. 18, I.)

B

• Badel, Laurence (2021) Diplomaties européennes. XIXe-XXIe siècle.   (Reviewed by Antonio Missiroli in Vol. 16, IV.)
• Baldacchino, Godfrey, and Anders Wivel, eds. (2020) Handbook on the Politics of Small States.   (Reviewed by Marko Kovačević in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Bayles, Martha (2014) Through a Screen Darkly: Popular Culture, Public Diplomacy, and America’s Image Abroad.   (Reviewed by James Thomas Snydes in Vol. 10, I.)
• Baysha, Olga (2021) Democracy, Populism, and Neoliberalism in Ukraine: On the Fringes of the Virtual and the Real.   (Reviewed by Jens Meijen in Vol. 19, IV.)
• Beardsley, Kyle (2011) The Mediation Dilemma.   (Reviewed by Paul Meerts in Vol. 8, I.)
• Bercovitch, Jacob (2011) Theory and Practice of International Mediation.   (Reviewed by Paul Meerts in Vol. 8, I.)
• Bjola, Corneliu, and James Pamment, eds. (2019) Countering Online Propaganda and Extremism. The Dark Side of Digital Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Alejandro Ramos C. in Vol. 15, III.)
• Bjola, Corneliu, and Ruben Zaiotti, eds. (2020) Digital Diplomacy and International Organisations: Autonomy, Legitimacy and Contestation.   (Reviewed by Nicolas Verbeek in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Black, Jeremy (2010) A History of Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Manuel Duran in Vol. 8, I.)
• Boyd, Sue (2020) Not Always Diplomatic: An Austrlian Woman’s Journey through International Affairs.   (Reviewed by Diletta M. L. Alparone in Vol. 18, I.)
• Bravo, V, and M. de Moya, eds. (2022) Latin American Diaspora Public Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Antonio Alejo in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Bremmer, Ian (2012) Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World.   (Reviewed by Yf Reykers in Vol. 8, III-IV.)
• Bruns, Kai (2014) A Cornerstone of Modern Diplomacy: Britain and the Negotiation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.   (Reviewed by Sanderijn Duquet in Vol. 10, IV.)

C

• Çevik, Senem B., and Philip Seib (2015) Turkey’s Public Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Niels Morsink in Vol. 12, I.)
• Cooke, Samantha, ed. (2022) Non-Western Global Theories of International Relations.   (Reviewed by Abhinand Siddharth Srinivas in Vol. 19, II.)
• Cooper, Andrew F., Jorge Heine, and Ramesh Thakur (2013) The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Melissa Conley Tyler and Kelly Sullivan in Vol. 9, IV.)
• Cornejo, Romer (2018) La política cultural de China en América Latina.   (Reviewed by Alberto Lioy and Andrea Kaplanová in Vol. 20, II.)
• Crocker, Chester A., Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall, eds. (2022) Diplomacy and the Future of World Order.   (Reviewed by Lise H. Andersen in Vol. 17, I.)
• Cross, Mai’a K. Davis (2011) Security Integration in Europe: How Knowledge-based Networks are Transforming the European Union.   (Reviewed by Lennart Landman in Vol. 8, III-IV.)
• Cull, Nicholas J. (2019) Public Diplomacy. Foundations for Global Engagement in the Digital Age.   (Reviewed by Yiwei Wang and Pengfei Zhang in Vol. 15, III.)

D

• De Groof, Emmanuel H. D., and Micha Wiebusch, eds. (2020) International Law and Transitional Governance: Critical Perspectives.   (Reviewed by Richard Fosu in Vol. 18, I.)
• Dieguez, Alejandro Mario, ed. (2024) Argentina ‘tierra de promisión’: Gli archive delle nunziature di Giuseppe Fietta (1937-1953) e Mario Zanin (1953-1958).   (Reviewed by Galo Garcés Avalos in Vol. 20, I.)
• Digol, Diana (2010) Emerging Diplomatic Elites in Post-Communist Europe: Analysis of Diplomats.   (Reviewed by Milan Jazbec in Vol. 8, II.)
• Dittmer, Jason (2017) Diplomatic Material: Affect, Assemblage, and Foreign Policy.   (Reviewed by Olga Krasnyak in Vol. 13, IV.)
• Duncombe, Constance (2019) Representation, Recognition and Respect in World Politics. The Case of US-Iran Relations.   (Reviewed by Tamás Peragovics in Vol. 19, II.)

F

• Fitzpatrick, Kathy R. (2010) The Future of US Public Diplomacy: An Uncertain Fate.   (Reviewed by Bruce S. Allen in Vol. 6, I-II.)
• Forsberg, Tuomas, and Sirke Mäkinen, eds. (2021) Russia’s Cultural Statecraft.   (Reviewed by Danielle Wolff in Vol. 19, II.)
• Foster, Stephenie, and Susan A. Markham (2023) Feminist Foreign Policy in Theory and in Practice: An Introduction.   (Reviewed by Draga Gajić in Vol. 20, I.)

G

• Grandi, Lorenzo Kihlgren (2022) City Diplomacy: Cities and the Global Politics of the Environment.   (Reviewed by Ekaterina Mikhailova in Vol. 17, I.)
• Guo, Yanjun, and Fujian Li, eds. (2021) Preventive Diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific.   (Reviewed by William J. Jones in Vol. 16, IV.)

H

• Haack, Kirsten (2022) Women’s Access, Representation and Leadership in the United Nations.   (Reviewed by Giulia Papapietro in Vol. 18, I.)
• Hall, Todd H. (2015) Emotional Diplomacy: Official Emotion on the International Stage.   (Reviewed by Amy Clarke in Vol. 12, I.)
• Ham, Peter, van (2010) Social Power in International Politics, The New International Relations Series.   (Reviewed by Camelia Tigau in Vol. 7, II.)
• Haugevik, Kristin (2018) Special Relationships in World Politics: Inter-State Friendship and Diplomacy after the Second World War.   (Reviewed by Amy Kasper in Vol. 16, II-III.)
• Hearn, Adrian H. (2016) Diaspora and Trust.   (Reviewed by Alberto Lioy and Andrea Kaplanová in Vol. 20, II.)
• Herd, Gareme P. (2022) Understanding Russian Strategic Behavior: Imperial Strategic Culture and Putin’s Operational Code.   (Reviewed by Keith Prushankin in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Higashi, Daisaku (2022) Inclusivity in Mediation and Peacebuilding: UN, Neighbouring States, and Global Powers.   (Reviewed by Ahmet Serdar Günaydin in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Holmes, Marcus (2018) Face-to-Face Diplomacy: Social Neuroscience and International Relations.   (Reviewed by Olga Krasnyak in Vol. 13, IV.)
• Hudson, Valerie M., Donna Lee Bowen, and Perpetua Lynne Nielsen (2020) The First Political Order: How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide.   (Reviewed by Caitlan Read in Vol. 16, IV.)
• Huttunen, Miia (2022) Politicised Cinema: Post-War Film, Cultural Diplomacy and UNESCO.   (Reviewed by Danielle Wolff in Vol. 18, I.)

K

• Katz, Catherine Grace (2020) The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War.   (Reviewed by Philip Nash in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Keck, Jörn, Dimitri Vanoverbeke, and Franz Waldenberger (2013) EU-Japan Relations, 1970-2012: From Confrontation to Global Partnership.   (Reviewed by Marie Söderberg in Vol. 9, IV.)
• Kellner, Thierry, and Sophie Wintgens (2021) China-Latin America and the Caribbean: Assessment and Outlook.   (Reviewed by Alberto Lioy and Andrea Kaplanová in Vol. 20, II.)
• Kleiner, Juergen (2009) Diplomatic Practice: Between Tradition and Innovation.   (Reviewed by Seung-young Kim in Vol. 5, III.)
• Kupchan, Charles A. (2010) How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace.   (Reviewed by G. R. Berridge in Vol. 5, III.)

L

• Lam, Vu (2022) Public Diplomacy in Vietnam: National Interests and Identities in the Public Sphere.   (Reviewed by Nguyen Ngoc Thao Le in Vol. 19, II.)
• Laskar, Rejaul Karim, ed. (2023) Forging New Partnerships, Breaching New Frontiers: India’s Diplomacy during the UPA Rule 2004-2014.   (Reviewed by Abhinand Siddharth Srinivas in Vol. 20, II.)
• Lavelle, Kathryn C. (2020) The Challenges of Multilateralism.   (Reviewed by Benjamin Duerr in Vol. 16, II-III.)
• Lindsey, David (2023) Delegated Diplomacy: How Ambassadors Establish Trust in International Relations.   (Reviewed by Tamás Peragovics in Vol. 20, I.)
• Liu, Xin (2019) China’s Cultural Diplomacy: A Great Leap Outward?.   (Reviewed by Cheng Yeung Yang in Vol. 19, II.)
• Loh, Dylan M.H. (2024) China’s Rising Foreign Ministry: Practices and Representations of Assertive Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Kristin Eggeling in Vol. 19, IV.)

M

• Makoto, Iokibe, ed., and Robert D. Eldridge, translation and annotation (2011) The Diplomatic History of Postwar Japan.   (Reviewed by Elena Atanassova-Cornelis in Vol. 7, II.)
• Manjikian, Mary (2020) Gender, Sexuality, and Intelligence Studies: The Spy in the Closet.   (Reviewed by Elif Ezgi Keleş in Vol. 18, I.)
• Manor, Ilan (2019) The Digitalization of Public Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Gerardo (Gerry) Diaz Bartolome in Vol. 17, II.)
• Martin, Peter (2021) China’s Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by M. Hasim Tekines in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Mearsheimer, John (2012) Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics.   (Reviewed by Kees Homan in Vol. 8, II.)
• Melissen, Jan, and Ana Mar Fernández, eds. (2011) Consular Affairs and Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Juergen Kleiner in Vol. 7, III.)
• Miller, Chris (2023) We Shall Be Masters: Russian Pivot to East Asia from Peter the Great to Putin.   (Reviewed by Kseniia Soloveva in Vol. 19, II.)
• Morgenstern, Pomorski, Jost-Henrik (2018) The Contested Diplomacy of the European External Action Service.   (Reviewed by Luca Paladini in Vol. 14, IV.)
• Morizot, Baptiste (2022) Wild Diplomacy: Cohabiting with Wolves on a New Ontological Map.   (Reviewed by Tore Fougner in Vol. 19, II.)

N

• Nash, Philip (2020) Breaking Protocol: America’s First Female Ambassadors, 1933-1964.   (Reviewed by Cecile Divya Lorrillard in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Nemeth, Erik (2015) Cultural Security: Evaluating the Power of Culture in International Affairs.   (Reviewed by Sander Wit in Vol. 11, IV.)
• Neumann, Iver B. (2022) Diplomatic Tenses: A Social Evolutionary Perspective on Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Andre Nordensterne in Vol. 17, I.)
• Neumann, Iver (2012) At Home with the Diplomats: Inside a European Foreign Ministry.   (Reviewed by Jeremy Cresswell in Vol. 9, I.)
• Newby, Vanessa F. (2018) Peacekeeping in South Lebanon: Credibility and Local Cooperation.   (Reviewed by Shannon Zimmerman in Vol. 15, III.)

O

• Odgaard, Lisette (2012) China and Coexistence: Beijing’s National Security Strategy for the Twenty-First Century.   (Reviewed by Marc Lanteigne in Vol. 9, II.)
• Ohnesorge, Hendrik W. (2022) Soft Power: The Forces of Attraction in International Relations.   (Reviewed by Hanna T. Tuominen in Vol. 17, I.)
• Okano-Heijmans, Maaike (2013) Economic Diplomacy: Japan and the Balance of National Interests.   (Reviewed by Marie Söderberg in Vol. 9, IV.)
• O’Malley, Alanna (2018) The Diplomacy of Decolonisation: America, Britain and the United Nations during the Congo Crisis, 1960-1964.   (Reviewed by Ari Jerrems in Vol. 14, III.)
• Osgood, Kenneth A., and Brian C. Etheridge, eds. (2010) The United States and Public Diplomacy: New Directions in Cultural and International History.   (Reviewed by Bruce Gregory in Vol. 5, III.)
• Otte, T.G., ed. (2014) An Historian in Peace and War: The Diaries of Harold Temperley.   (Reviewed by John W. Young in Vol. 10, II.)
• Owen, Taylor (2015) Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State in the Digital Age.   (Reviewed by Camelia Tigau in Vol. 12, I.)

P

• Petrič, Ernest (2013) Foreign Policy: From Conception to Diplomatic Practice.   (Reviewed by Byron Harper in Vol. 9, II.)

Q

• Quigley, John (2018) Foreigners on America’s Death Rows.   (Reviewed by Robert Kissack in Vol. 14, IV.)

R

• Rana, Kishan S., and Bipul Chatterjee, eds. (2011) Economic Diplomacy: India’s Experience.   (Reviewed by Michel Kostecki in Vol. 7, III.)
• Repnikova, Maria (2022) Chinese Soft Power.   (Reviewed by Ibrahim Murat Kara in Vol. 19, II.)
• Riedel, Bruce O. (2013) Avoiding Armageddon: America, India, and Pakistan to the Brink and Back.   (Reviewed by Roman Chestnov in Vol. 10, I.)
• Riordan, Shaun (2019) Cyberdiplomacy: Managing Security and Governance Online.   (Reviewed by Elsa Hedling in Vol. 15, IV.)
• Roberts, Ivor, ed. (2009) Satow’s Diplomatic Practice.   (Reviewed by Stuart Murray in Vol. 6, I-II.)
• Rosskam, Ellen, and Ilona Kickbusch, eds. (2012) Negotiating and Navigating Global Health: Case Studies in Global Health Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Manuel M. Dayrit in Vol. 8, III-IV.)
• Ruël, Huub, ed. (2012) Commercial Diplomacy and International Business: A Conceptual and Empirical Exploration.   (Reviewed by Michael Talalay in Vol. 9, I.)
• Ruffini, Pierre-Bruno (2017) Science and Diplomacy. A New Dimension of International Relations.   (Reviewed by Olga Krasnyak in Vol. 14, IV.)

S

• Sebastião, Sónia Pedro, and Susana de Carvalho Spínola, eds. (2022) Diplomacy, Organisations and Citizens: A European Communication Perspective.   (Reviewed by Iris Jugo Núñez-Hoyo in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Seib, Philip (2016) The Future of #Diplomacy.   (Reviewed by Matthias Erlandsen in Vol. 13, IV.)
• Seib, Philip (2012) Real-Time Diplomacy: Politics and Power in the Social Media Era.   (Reviewed by Fergus Hanson in Vol. 8, II.)
• Sharp, P. (2009) Diplomatic Theory of International Relations.   (Reviewed by Tatiana Zonova in Vol. 7, III.)
• Smith, Sarah E.K. (2025) Trading on Art: Cultural Diplomacy and Free Trade in North America.   (Reviewed by Simge Erdogan-O’Conner in Vol. 20, IV.)
• Songster, E. Elena (2018) Panda Nation: The Construction and Conservation of China’s Modern Icon.   (Reviewed by Sabrina Hsu in Vol. 14, III.)
• Sonnleitner, Sandra (2018) Bilateral Diplomacy and EU Membership: Case Study on Austria.   (Reviewed by David Spence in Vol. 15, I-II.)
• Sowerby, Tracey A., and Jan Hennings, eds. (2017) Practices of Diplomacy in the Early Modern World c. 1410-1800.   (Reviewed by Luca Federico Cerra in Vol. 19, IV.)
• Spies, Yolanda Kemp (2019) Global Diplomacy and International Society.   (Reviewed by João Mourata Pinto in Vol. 17, II.)
• Steinmetz, Robert, and Anders Wivel, eds. (2010) Small States in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities.   (Reviewed by Ali Naseer Mohamed in Vol. 6, I-II.)

T

• Trager, Robert F. (2018) Diplomacy: Communication and the Origins of International Order.   (Reviewed by Olga Krasnyak in Vol. 13, IV.)

V

• Visoka, Gëzim (2024) The Derecognition of States.   (Reviewed by Muhamet Brajshori in Vol. 20, II.)

W

• Weiss, Tomáš, and Geoffrey Edwards, eds. (2021) Small States and Security in Europe: Between National and International Policymaking.   (Reviewed by Lucie Belzile in Vol. 18, IV.)
• Wheeler, Nicholas J. (2018) Trusting Enemies.   (Reviewed by Olga Krasnyak in Vol. 13, IV.)
• Willetts, Peter (2011) Non-Governmental Organizations in World Politics: The Construction of Global Governance.   (Reviewed by Christos A. Frangonikolopoulos in Vol. 8, I.)
• Wolvaardt, Pieter, Tom Wheeler, and Werner Scholtz (2010) From Verwoerd to Mandela: South African Diplomats Remember. Volume 1: The Wild Honey of Africa.   (Reviewed by Peter Vale in Vol. 7, III.)
• Wolvaardt, Pieter, Tom Wheeler, and Werner Scholtz (2010) From Verwoerd to Mandela: South African Diplomats Remember. Volume 2: The Noose Tightens.   (Reviewed by Peter Vale in Vol. 7, III.)
• Wolvaardt, Pieter, Tom Wheeler, and Werner Scholtz (2010) From Verwoerd to Mandela: South African Diplomats Remember. Volume 3: Total Onslaught to Normalization.   (Reviewed by Peter Vale in Vol. 7, III.)
• Woudenberg, Nout, van (2012) State Immunity and Cultural Objects on Loan.   (Reviewed by Vittorio Mainetti in Vol. 9, II.)
• Wuthnow, Joel (2013) Chinese Diplomacy and the UN Security Council.   (Reviewed by Edith Drieskens in Vol. 9, III.)

Y

• Young, John W. (2014) David Bruce and Diplomatic Practice: An American in London, 1961-9.   (Reviewed by Alison R. Holmes in Vol. 10, II.)

Z

• Zaharna, R. S. (2022) Boundary Spanners in Humanity: Three Logics of Communications and Public Diplomacy for Global Collaboration.   (Reviewed by Emad A. Ayasreh in Vol. 18, I.)
• Zaharna, R. S. (2010) Battles to Bridges: US Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy after 9/11.   (Reviewed by Ellen Huijgh in Vol. 6, I-II.)
• Zaharna, R. S., Amelia Arsenault, and Ali Fisher (2013) Relational, Networked and Collaborative Approaches to Public Diplomacy: The Connective Mindshift.   (Reviewed by Brooke Bagan in Vol. 9, III.)
• Zapata, Ximena (2023) China’s Cultural Diplomacy in a New Era of Multilateralism: The Case of the China-Community of Latin American & Caribbean States (CELAC) Forum (CCF).   (Reviewed by Alberto Lioy and Andrea Kaplanová in Vol. 20, II.)