Personal Politics in the Postwar World: Western Diplomacy Behind the Scenes

(Hardback)

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Unravelling the mechanisms of daily diplomacy in the mid-20th century, this book follows one Dutch diplomatic couple, the van Kleffens, on their postings from the 1930s to the 1950s to offer a new perspective on how non-officials and personal politics shaped the postwar world. Combining private and public source materials, Erlandsson foregrounds the political culture of diplomacy and highlights events and people which have been left off the official record. The book integrates the detailed study of behind-the-scenes diplomatic practice into the larger narrative of traditional diplomatic history, connecting social practices with political outcomes. Exploring how womens tea drinking was used to achieve post-war foreign policy and how Rosa, a Guatemalan cook, contributed to the international standing of the Netherlands, it offers a more inclusive history by recognising the diplomatic work done by actors who were not diplomats. In doing so it demonstrates the ways in which diplomacy was class-bound, gendered and racialized, and proves that historicizing gender and cultural norms is crucial to understanding political and international history.

Reviews

This superb study demonstrates to the full the value of delving into all aspects of the diplomatic life-world in order to gain a more complete appreciation and understanding of how diplomacy works. The attention to detail is admirable, and the critical judgement is subtle and evident throughout. A wonderful book that looks at first glance like a straightforward diplomatic biography but that actually delivers a far more complex analysis to re-assess diplomatic history and practice in one go. * Giles Scott Smith, Roosevelt Chair in New Diplomatic History, RIAS/Leiden University, The Netherlands *
Susanna Erlandsson offers a fascinating portrait of diplomats as fully rounded human beings, showing why and how spouses, cooks, entertaining, dress, and much more are an integral part of international affairs. Personal Politics in the Postwar World will be an essential reference for anyone interested in the art of diplomacy. * Barbara Keys, Professor of History, Durham University, UK *
Placing the heterosexual couple the diplomat and his wife at the center of mid-century Western diplomacy, Erlandsson provides a superb account of just how integral the diplomatic home, food and family were for diplomatic interactions. A must read for anyone interested in the gendered, racialized and classed micro-foundations of diplomacy. * Ann Towns, Professor of Political Science and Head of GenDip, University of Gothenburg, Sweden *

Author Bio

Susanna Erlandsson is a researcher at the Department of History of Uppsala University, Sweden, and editor-in-chief of the leading Swedish historical journal Historisk tidskrift. Her award-winning comparative dissertation Window of Opportunity, a comparative study of Dutch and Swedish security ideas and strategies in the 1940s, was published in 2015. She has since published extensively on small states as well as on gender and diplomacy.