Kenneth Schultz explores the effects of democratic politics on the use and success of coercive diplomacy. He argues that open political competition between the government and opposition parties influences the decision to use threats in international crises, how rival states interpret those threats, and whether or not crises can be settled short of war. The relative transparency of their political processes means that, while democratic governments cannot easily conceal domestic constraints against using force, they can also credibly demonstrate resolve when their threats enjoy strong domestic support. As a result, compared to their non-democratic counterparts, democracies are more selective about making threats, but those they do make are more likely to be successful - that is, to gain a favorable outcome without resort to war. Schultz develops his argument through a series of game-theoretic models and tests the resulting hypothesis using both statistical analyses and historical case studies.

Offers an account of the role of diplomacy in the promotion of our national interest. This work is intended for foreign officials about to deal for the first time with the United States and for every American contemplating a diplomatic career.

This book is only a preliminary study of the question of democratic control, which is now being eagerly discussed in all parts of the country. The aim of the publication of this volume is to lead those in authority, who can exercise far more influence than the author of this book, to give this problem the serious consideration to which it is entitled.

Excerpt from Democracy and Diplomacy: A Plea for Popular Control of Foreign Policy For some years past I have been specially struck by the divergent methods adopted in the management of home affairs and in the management of foreign affairs. I have been convinced that in the national interests, as well as in the interests of peace, the democratic principle should be adopted in both. I have delivered addresses and written pamphlets on the subject, and, in times when foreign questions have occupied public attention to an unusual degree, I have received encouragement and support for the views I hold. Unfortunately, during the intervening periods of calm, when social and internal problems monopolize the political arena, people are apt to forget altogether the importance of our international relations. They receive no information, they have no incentive to study the subject, and they are content to remain ignorant until an alarm or scare occurs to remind them of the supreme importance of this branch of public affairs. The great crisis in which we now find ourselves will have the effect of making foreign affairs the centre of national interest for many years to come - long enough, I trust, for the people to insist on altering a system which has broken down and proved itself an absolute failure. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

For more than twenty-five years, the tiny independent island-states of the English-speaking Caribbean have been dispatching diplomats to the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Commonwealth of Nations, and to many capitals including Washington and London. This book recalls the heroic instances when the diplomats from these tiny states succeeded in keeping the USA, the world's lone superpower, true to its democratic creed. The USA is inclined to abandon democratic ideals when other interests are at stake. The Caribbean diplomats have helped to improve US world- and regional-leadership by challenging the US when it was willing to stray; and, they have improved the lives of millions of people in Latin America and the Caribbean by their insistence on democratic ideals at every juncture. The diplomats and leaders from the tiny Caribbean states have utilized the multilateral institutions where they sit at table with the USA to make themselves a moral force for good. How could tiny states possibly compel changes in US foreign policy? A former Ambassador to the UN, the USA and the OAS answers this question in Democracy by Diplomacy.

'Kissinger's absorbing book tackles head-on some of the toughest questions of our time . . . Its pages sparkle with insight' Simon Schama in the NEW YORKER Spanning more than three centuries, from Cardinal Richelieu to the fragility of the 'New World Order', DIPLOMACY is the now-classic history of international relations by the former Secretary of State and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Kissinger's intimate portraits of world leaders, many from personal experience, provide the reader with a unique insight into what really goes on -- and why -- behind the closed doors of the corridors of power. 'Budding diplomats and politicians should read it as avidly as their predecessors read Machiavelli' Douglas Hurd in the DAILY TELEGRAPH 'If you want to pay someone a compliment, give them Henry Kissinger's DIPLOMACY ... It is certainly one of the best, and most enjoyable [books] on international relations past and present ... DIPLOMACY should be read for the sheer historical sweep, the characterisations, the story-telling, the ability to look at large parts of the world as a whole' Malcolm Rutherford in the FINANCIAL TIMES