What does theory have to do with the concept - let alone the practice - of diplomacy? More than we might think, as Costas M. Constantinou demonstrates in this reconsideration of both the concept of diplomacy and the working of theory. Here, Constantinou focuses on the language that underwrites and directs theory and diplomacy, and shows that such a critical approach is actually a way of practising politics. Constantinou underscores the original intertextual association between theory and diplomacy by employing the ancient Greek term theoria. Theoria once referred to both philosophical thinking and a sacred embassy sent to consult the oracle. The use of the term in this book leads to a new view of theory and diplomacy, as discursively and historically conditioned concepts. Constantinou thus considers the structures of diplomacy and theory together with the notion of representation that is peculiar to Western metaphysical thought, Such an approach reveals the political stakes of exploring the linked identities of theory and diplomacy. In the process, Constantinou investigates the relationship between theory/diplomacy and etymological, mythological, theological and artistic texts.
A deconstruction of diplomacy itself, his work bridges classical and contemporary philosophy, ancient and modern political practice, and, ultimately, politics and the arts in general.
