Introduction:Historical International Relations

Disciplinary International Relations (IR) grew in part out of the discipline of History. Even so, the subfield of Historical International Relations (HIR) is a relatively new one. A mere decade ago, a handbook such as this one would have seemed unthinkable. Sure, there were books about History and IR (Elman and Elman, 1997) and more on the way (Bukovansky et al., forthcoming), people discussed the “problem of history” in IR (Armitage, 2004; Vaughan-Williams, 2005) and it was asked what history could be in IR (Hobson and Lawson, 2008). These takes nevertheless all supposed either the existence of a divide to be bridged or a continuum where the enterprises of History and IR were commensurable. The emergence and institutionalisation of a distinct subfield over the last decade has radically changed that landscape. Writing in 2020, it is obvious that a burgeoning subfield of HIR not only exists within the discipline, but that it has come to age and is thriving. As the ensuing chapters vividly demonstrate, so much material is being produced that a stock-taking exercise is both possible and necessary. This handbook attempts just such a stocktaking

Fremmede konsuler i Norge ca. 1660-1905

Foreign Consuls to Norway, c. 1660-1905Consular services predate modern diplomacy by several centuries, yet have received only scant attention from historians of inter-state relations. From the 16th Century and onwards there have been far more consuls than diplomats, they have covered far more cities than the diplomats, and in the hustle and bustle of everyday life they have been far more important than the diplomats in making the less spectacular parts of international society function. In this article we highlight the importance of the consular institution, by detailing both the emergence of the consular institution in the Mediterranean in the years after the crusades and its development into a more modern recognisable form around the North Sea in the 17th Century. Of central concern are the changing roles and practices of consuls, as seen through the activities of the foreign consuls to Norway from around 1660 to the beginning of the 20th Century. The recruitment of consuls, their social position, and the changing relative importance of their roles in politics, diplomacy and local community life are among the various aspects discussed. Besides the consequences of general change in societal organization over time, the historical transformations of the constitutional status of Norway, from possession of the Danish absolute monarch over semi-independent state, in personal union with Sweden, to sovereign nation, offer the advantage of studying the consular institution under different state systems. The essential feature of the consular institution appears to be its great adaptability, not being restricted to one singular function or modus operandi, but simply with the task of representing and assisting foreign states and their citizens as the common denominator across different epochs and institutional settings

Ethnic Diversity in the Recruitment of Diplomats: Why MFAs Take the Issue Seriously

Diversity and its management have become an issue in all organisations. Ministries of foreign affairs (MFAs) do not escape the issue. In the 2000s, states decided to consider more ethnic diversity in the recruitment of their diplomats. In some countries, this new goal requires affirmative action programs. This article is based on three case studies. The first case study analyses two Western countries — France and Norway — where MFAs have to reflect the diversity of immigration in their societies. The second case study analyses the case of Brazil, a country where the legacy of slavery still causes discrimination in the recruitment of diplomats. The third case study analyses ethnic diversity in the MFAs of India and Singapore, which recognise multiculturalism or multiracialism. The study draws five comparative conclusions to generalise on why MFAs in the world cannot escape the challenge of ethnic diversity in their recruitment policy