4 Books Every Diplomacy Student Should Read

If you have plans to complete your masters in diplomacy, reading books on international relations should not feel like anything new to you. However, there are only so many books that you can read during the short duration of the course, so it’s imperative to make sure that they are good ones. To help you with that selection, here are four great pieces of work which you should find enthralling as a student of diplomacy.

Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis by Kenneth Waltz

This book doesn’t really need much introduction as it’s one of the most famous works of Kenneth Waltz in the field of international relations. He analyzes and tackles various issues of diplomacy, international relations, the human nature and the structure of states at three levels. He heavily emphasizes on the anarchic international system in the book with the notion that in such a system, power is the only valid currency that’s worth anything. If you are interested in structural realism, you will love Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis.

Bureaucratic Politics and Foreign Policy by Morton Halperin

The best part about reading Bureaucratic Politics and Foreign Policy is the fact that in spite of being primarily based on the US political system and foreign policies, it remains relevant to almost every other democratic nation as well. He goes into the details while discussing how foreign policy interest groups are often exploited by bureaucratic politics because of their weak position as a hardly-organized and financially struggling small group. As Members of the Parliament are also quite aware that most voters care more about immediate domestic situations than foreign policies, foreign policy interest groups suffer even more neglect.

Perception and Misperception in International Politics by Robert Jervis

Perception and Misperception in International Politics is an old book but it remains valid even today because it’s an excellent guide to understanding the impact of the human psyche and media in the interpretation of international relations and world politics. While decades have passed since the book was first published, the core principles are based on understanding human psychology, so it is still an excellent read and a reliable guide.

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

This is perhaps the most interesting read of the lot because unlike any other works on this list, it combines macro-history with biology and natural conditions to explain a lot of factors that ultimately and greatly contribute towards shaping human societies through time and maintaining balance of power. Diamond factors in human population, climatic conditions, agronomy, economy and many other valid yet often ignored aspects to explain and elaborate.

The books on this list are timeless classics that every diplomacy student should read, but if you are worried about staying updated with the changing times, you don’t really have to. As long as you are completing your online MDY program from Norwich University, their specialized course will make sure that you are always on top of the latest happenings in international relations and diplomacy. Nevertheless, these books will make for good reads on the side and might even provide you with some new outlook towards your future job.