NHD2025

The 6th conference of the network for New Diplomatic History, scheduled for the spring of 2025 at Sciences po Aix, will mark the 12th anniversary of the inaugural NDH conference held at Leiden in 2013 (https://newdiplomatichistory.org/). This event will be dedicated to the study of diplomatic transfers, networks, representations and practices between the World and Europe, but also between Europe and the World. This approach aims to highlight North-South and South-North dimensions of diplomatic practices and actors during the modern and contemporary periods (XVIth – XXIst centuries).

The theme chosen for this conference will gather research dealing with diplomacy as a shared activity. Peoples involved in diplomacy are constantly dependent on their interlocutors, their practices, their rhythms and their language. They feed off the experiences they encounter, seeking to adapt their negotiating style to the world’s political, social, psychological and technological evolutions, with the aim of best defending their country’s interests. While the idea is well establish that diplomatic actors in the South were able to draw inspiration from the practices of the North to assert themselves on the international scene at the turning point of the decolonization process, historiography has not only shown that transnational North-South, South-South and South-North transnational influences were already at work before the mid- twentieth century, but also that after the decolonizations, the countries of the North had no choice but to adapt to the realities and experiences of the South in order to have a say in post-colonial international relations.

The goal of this 6th conference will be to continue the efforts of previous meetings to broaden the scope of new diplomatic history. It welcomes global perspectives originating from outside the Euro-American sphere, to explore the inter-cultural dimensions of diplomatic contacts across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and how diplomatic norms have been adapted to context-specific settings and practices.