Featured Reviews
Featured Reviews published on the HJD blog offer an accessible platform for scholars and practitioners to share reflections, spark dialogue, and highlight innovative ideas shaping the study and practice of diplomacy.
Typically 600–800 words in length and analytical or argumentative in tone, these reviews may engage not only with books, but also with documentaries, art, and other media that contribute to contemporary debates on diplomacy and global affairs.
We currently particularly welcome submissions that explore themes such as:
- counter-authoritarianism,
- the decline of multilateralism,
- the rise of alternative forms of governance,
- and decentralisation
If you are interested in publishing a featured review, please send an e-mail to our editors Sophie Vériter and Léa Glasmeyer referencing the medium’s full details and explaining your motivation to write a review for our blog.
Previous Featured Reviews
Chasing the Devil at Foggy Bottom. The Future of Religion in American Diplomacy, written by Shaun A. Casey (2023)
27 November 2025, review by Simon Polinder
In his book, Shaun A. Casey draws on his experience as the former director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs to analyze the role of religion in diplomacy. The book is a mixture of memoir, policy analysis, and a call to action, showing how a better integration of religious understanding could improve diplomacy and global engagement in the 21st century. Casey argues that religion is a critical yet under-resourced dimension of American diplomacy. He also critiques past U.S. foreign policy approaches that ignored or oversimplified religion—such as focusing narrowly on religious freedom or counter-terrorism—and offers a vision for more religious literacy in diplomacy... continue reading...
China's foreign policy contradictions lessons from China's R2P, Hong Kong, and WTO policy, written by Tim Nicholas Rühlig (2022)
28 January 2025, review by Caroline Seil
By employing an anthropological lens, Tim Nicholas Rühlig’s China’s Foreign Policy Contradictions explores how domestic vulnerabilities within the Chinese party-state create inconsistencies between its rhetoric of state control and its foreign policy practices. Drawing on interviews and document analysis, the book examines three cases—the Responsibility to Protect, Hong Kong, and the WTO—to reveal how competing sources of legitimacy and a fragmented state structure shape China’s decision-making. Rühlig argues that these internal tensions constrain China’s capacity to advance a unified “China Model,” instead fostering a more plural and fragmented international order.... continue reading...
A Small State’s Guide to Influence in World Politics, written by Tom Long (2022)
7 February 2023, review by Hillary Briffa
In A Small State’s Guide to Influence in World Politics, Tom Long explains how small states can leverage relationships and strategic opportunities to advance their foreign policy goals despite material limitations. Using typological theory and diverse global cases, Long identifies when and how small states can exert influence and provides practical tools for scholars and policymakers to analyze their strategies.... continue reading...
Hybrid Diplomacy with NGOs: The Italian Formula, written by Raffaele Marchetti (2021)
6 February 2023, review by Emad A. Ayasreh
Hybrid Diplomacy with NGOs by Raffaele Marchetti examines hybrid diplomacy as a form of collaboration between governments and civil society organizations—and more specifically between Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Non-Governmental Organizations—that advances new issues and norm change in global politics. Using Italy as a case study, it shows how the country’s active non-profit sector and position as a middle power enable it to pursue this innovative diplomatic approach. The analysis broadens understanding of foreign policy and transnational activism by highlighting Italy’s distinctive role in international affairs.... continue reading...
