What role does the International Monetary Fund have in diplomacy? Does a smaller power really have a chance when it proposes restriction of a larger power's military enterprises? Barston (international relations, U. of Reading) makes good use of his experience in diplomacy to give students a background in diplomacy from the front lines to the back rooms. He describes how diplomacy has changed from the days when it was a family business to the nominally more democratic present, foreign policy organization, negotiation, developing diplomatic practice, international financial relations, trade and foreign policy, disaster and emergency diplomacy (focusing on recent major events), security (including the influence of international terrorism), violence and change, diplomacy and mediation, the diplomacy of normalization, and international treaties. He supplies extensive case studies on environmental diplomacy and international agreements and in this edition includes new chapters on diplomatic methods and practice. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Read Less