What Diplomats Do

Sir Brian Barder, KCMG, had a distinguished career in the British Diplomatic Service, serving as ambassador to Ethiopia, the Republic of Bénin, and Poland, and as high commissioner to Nigeria and Australia. A former founding member with judicial status of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, he has a popular blog (http://www.barder.com/ephems). He is an honorary visiting fellow at the University of Leicester Department of Politics and International Relations.

• Foreword by Sir Ivor RobertsChapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Candidate for a Diplomatic Career Chapter 3: Arrival at a New PostChapter 4: Life in the Embassy Chapter 5: Life Overseas Chapter 6: Multilateral Diplomacy Chapter 7: Diplomacy in a Hostile Country Chapter 8: Dealing with Foreigners Chapter 9: Dealing with the Foreign Ministry from Abroad Chapter 10: Entertaining and Being Entertained Chapter 11: Serving in the FCO at Home Chapter 12: A Dog's Life for the Spouse and the Kids? Chapter 13: Consular and Commercial Activities Chapter 14: Looking Back: Reflections on the Diplomatic Career

Sir Brian Barder’s book What Diplomats Do offers comprehensive insight into the life and work of diplomats. It deserves to be read by practitioners and aspiring practitioners of diplomacy, by students and teachers of diplomacy, and by anyone interested in what diplomats actually do. It crosses genres as easily as it addresses and holds the attention of a broad audience. The book’s location at the intersection between a textbook on diplomacy, memoirs of a former ambassador, and a fictionalised account of the life of a British diplomat at home and abroad gives it its unique character. This allows the book to fill a gap on the bookshelf between those books with a clear academic approach such as Geoff Berridge’s Diplomatic Theory and Practice, on the one hand, and books that are first and foremost diplomatic memoirs.