The Decline of the Congress System: Metternich, Italy, and European Diplomacy. By Miroslav Šedivý. London: I. B. Tauris & Co., 2018. Pp. xii+352. $110.00.

2021 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-185
Author(s):  
Karin Schneider
Keyword(s):  
2019 ◽  
pp. 40-61
Author(s):  
Martin Pugh

This chapter focuses on the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Following Henry VIII's break with Rome in 1531, the English Reformation led Britain into a protracted struggle with the two great Catholic powers, Spain and France, for the next 300 years. The long-term effect was to define Britain as the leading Protestant power; but more immediately, it posed a far greater threat to England than Islam, and effectively destroyed the rationale for crusading activities. In this situation, the Islamic empires actually became a valuable balancing factor in European diplomacy. Henry's readiness to deal with the Muslim powers was far from eccentric during the sixteenth century. Both King Francis I of France and Queen Elizabeth I of England took the policy of collaboration much further.


Author(s):  
Marina Okladnaya ◽  
Ivan Yakovyuk ◽  
Victoria Dyadyk

Problem setting. Today the European Union interacts with the whole world and represents the interests and values of the European community far beyond one continent. Carrying out such activities provides for the existence of effective institutions for its implementation, which today are the European External Action Service and the European Uniondelegations around the world. It significantly differs from the classical manifestations of diplomacy, which determines the relevance of research into the establishment and development of the European Union diplomatic service. Moreover, understanding the process of formation and features of European Union diplomacy is interesting for domestic researchers of European Union law given the pro-European aspirations of Ukraine. Analysis of recent researches and publications. Certain aspects of this topic have been studied by suchdomesticscientistsas F. Baranovsky, M. Hnatyuk, O. Grinenko, O. Gladenko, M. Entin, O. Opanasyuk-Radlinska, E. Ryaboshtan, D. Tkachenko, O. Turchenko, Y.Sergienko, V. Streltsova, G. Utko, O. Fisun, V. Tsivaty, V. Shamraeva, O. Shapovalova, etc. Target of research is to research the basic preconditions and features of the establishment and development of the European Union diplomatic service and its functioning in today’s conditions. Article’s main body. The article is devoted to the study of the main prerequisites and features of the establishment and development of the diplomatic service of the European Union. The authors paid attention to the coverage of the status, competence and procedure for sending the first representations of the Communities abroad, in particular the delegations of the European Commission. The changes made by the Maastricht, Amsterdam and Lisbon treaties on foreign policy are analyzed as well. All the reforms implemented by these treaties were aimed primarily at making the European Union more effective and coordinated in the international arena, and finally resolved the issue of the institutionalization of the body that deals with the European Union diplomatic service. So now it has the status of the European External Action Service and successfully performs its functions in the current conditions. Conclusions and prospects for the development. The modern European Union diplomatic service is the result of a long process of formalization and institutionalization of a whole set of its foreign policy bodies. The development of the European Union representation system shows that the spread of its representative activities has become global, as well as the dynamic transformation of the content of its goals to interact with the world in order to implement its foreign policy. However, despite the current and rapid dynamics of development and evolution of this institution, the question remains whether the European External Action Service is the final option for the external design of the European Union diplomatic service, or whether it will be another step in the process of building pan-European diplomacy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 141-169
Author(s):  
Christine Jackson

Herbert’s embassy coincided with a particularly complex period of European diplomacy as Catholic and Protestant nations moved from negotiating to taking up arms in the Thirty Years War. Chapter 7 explores his diplomatic role, actions, and lifestyle. It considers the difficulties he encountered in serving an English monarch pursuing a pro-Spanish foreign policy unpopular with a majority of his subjects, while cultivating good relations with an inexperienced French monarch facing internal opposition from his politically ambitious mother, rebellious nobility, and a discontented Protestant minority. It looks at Herbert’s reinvigoration of his noble and princely contacts in France and other European states and his relations with princes, ministers, and fellow diplomats. It focuses upon his determination to maximize his status and dignity when representing James I in the renewal of the oath of alliance with France, his energetic but unofficial support for the elector and electress palatine when they accepted the Bohemian Crown and triggered European-wide war, and his robust defence of French Protestants. It emphasizes the quality of his diplomatic reports and the success of his diplomatic networking and intelligence gathering. It examines his controversial exchanges with Louis XIII, and the royal favourite, the duke of Luynes, when, on the direct instruction of James I, he criticized the French king’s use of military force to suppress French Protestantism in south-west France during 1620 to 1621.


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