| ID | 193845 |
| Title Proper | Diplomacy in Practice |
| Other Title Information | a Critical Approach , by Johan Verbeke |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Bolewski, Wilfried |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Johan Verbeke’s book Diplomacy in Practice: A Critical Approach, with its interdisciplinary and valuable insight and critical reflections, is a refreshing revelation for (future) practitioners and academics alike. The senior Belgian and UN ambassador turned visiting professor at the Universities of Brussels and Lille views diplomacy as a behavioral practice for social engineering of transnational relations, directed toward efficient, sustainable, and therefore legitimate problem-solving, beyond merely complexity management. The author’s writing goes against the grain of the popular bias concerning publications on the practice of diplomacy: those who write about it rarely have the profound insight from personal experience, whereas high-level practitioners seldom publish. All the more revealing are Verbeke’s reflections as a close, trusted, and tested, but also critical, actor and observer. His insight comes from the highest-level bilateral and multilateral diplomatic decisionmaking and execution, and he does not fall into the trap of (retrospectively) justifying any practice (or its consequences) that he advised on or was privy to. |
| `In' analytical Note | Global Governance Vol. 29, No.3: Jul-Sep 2023: p.419–421 |
| Journal Source | Global Governance 2023-09 29, 3 |