From eavesdropping on clerks to researching international society developments in the history of international relations

Abstract

The paper analyses historical developments in the discipline of the history of international relations, from its origins in the nineteenth century until present day. It provides an overview of numerous approaches and topics that have driven its development over the previous two centuries. The article focuses on the evolution of the history of international relations in its American and Western European variations. In the first part, the origin and the activity of diplomatic history are examined in the context of the emergence of professional historiography. At that time, diplomatic history narrowly focused on studying the political and diplomatic relations between states and was the most prominent topic in political and intellectual discourse. Its significance further intensified following the First World War, when the topic of war guilt emerged as one of the major interwar political issues. In the second part, the study discusses the evolution of diplomatic history into a broader international history, emphasizing social, economic and ideological aspects. The shift happened as a result of the rising interest in social and economic history following World War II and manifested itself throughout specific discussions in various countries. It was also marked by increased uneasiness and self-criticism that historians of international affairs have become prone to. Following that, the paper explores the impact of new theoretical approaches and thematic concerns, that emerged as a result of the cultural turn, on the practice and the shape of international history. It now includes not only interstate relations, but also a diverse set of actors such as international organizations, multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations and networks of researchers, scientists and experts, all of which have been studied through the lenses of ideas, ideology, gender, beliefs, language, memory, value and perceptions.