Crisis Management: History and Theory in International Conflict

Abstract

Those familiar with classical European diplomacy will know of the recommendation made many years ago by the astute and renowned French diplomat, Francois de Callieres, that knowledge of diplomatic history should be a fundamental requirement for those involved in and concerned about the determinants and implementation of foreign policy.1 Implicit in his masterful treatise was also the advice that diplomatic historians make every effort to understand the craft of the theoreticians and practitioners of international politics.2 Unfortunately, his recommendations often have gone unheeded. Despite their mutual interest in international relations, diplomatic historians and political scientists frequently disparage the value of synthesis or exaggerate the differences in perspective and methodology between their two disciplines. Contemporary theorists, for example, generally lose the perspective of time by ignoring events from the pre-atomic era; they forfeit many sources of evidence by concentrating primarily on American experience; and they sacrifice much depth and variety by eschewing complex historical facts for abstract models. Historians, on the other hand, frequently are unwilling to explore observable patterns of behaviour, to examine the more recent past, or to learn the language and analytical concepts of the theoreticians.3 It is perhaps for reasons like