Satow's Diplomatic Practice

First published in 1917, Satow's Diplomatic Practice has long been hailed as a classic and authoritative text. An indispensable guide for anyone working in or studying the field of diplomacy, this seventh, centenary edition builds on the extensive revision in the sixth edition. The volume provides an enlarged and updated section on the history of diplomacy, including the exponential growth in multilateral diplomacy, and revises comprehensively the practice of diplomacy and the corpus of diplomatic and international law since the end of the Cold War. It traces the substantial expansion in numbers both of sovereign states and international and regional organisations and features detailed chapters on diplomatic privileges and immunities, diplomatic missions, and consular matters, treaty-making and conferences. The volume also examines alternative forms of diplomacy, from the work of NGOs to the use of secret envoys, as well as a study of the interaction with intelligence agencies and commercial security firms. It also discusses the impact of international terrorism and other violent non-state actors on the life and work of a diplomat. Finally, in recognition of the speed of changes in the field over the last ten years, this seventh edition examines the developments and challenges of modern diplomacy through new chapters on human rights and public/digital diplomacy by experts in their respective fields.


About the Author
Ivor Roberts, Former British Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Ireland, and Italy

Sir Ivor Roberts entered the Diplomatic Service in 1968. From 1989 to 1993 he was Minister in the British Embassy in Madrid. He was appointed Charge d'Affaires and Consul - General in Belgrade in March 1994, and after recognition of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by the United Kingdom, he became Ambassador. During his time in Belgrade he conducted negotiations on behalf of the international mediators (Lord Owen and Carl Bildt) with both the Yugoslav authorities and the Bosnian Serbs. From January 1998 to February 1999 he was on a sabbatical as a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College, Oxford, writing and lecturing on his experiences in Yugoslavia. From February 1999 to March 2003 he served as British Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland and from May 2003 to September 2006 as Ambassador to Italy. He retired from the Diplomatic Service in September 2006 on his election as the President of Trinity College Oxford. He retired from this post in 2017.