Diplomats and Diplomacy

Diplomats, who belonged to the same aristocratic world and were linked by transnational relations of friendship and family, also took part in debates over ideas, and symbolized in Europe the cosmopolitan ideal of the eighteenth century. Confronted since the end of nineteenth century with numerous problems, they operate within a wider and more diverse international community, with the appearance after 1945 of new non-state actors. Although diplomatic methods have undergone numerous transformations, beginning with the interwar period, they remain faithful to cultural and humanistic values, as well as to the practices inherited from their predecessors.