Publication

This is a transcript of a speech by Sir Ivor Roberts KCMG at an International Law Discussion Group meeting at Chatham House on 23 October 2009. In his speech, Roberts assesses the origins of modern diplomacy with reference to the Versailles Conference, the failure of the League of Nations, the UN, and the Cold War. He also covers para-, secret and track two diplomacy alongside modern diplomatic communications and the work of NGOs. He argues that although events in the 10 years preceding this speech point to the sidelining of diplomacy, it is as essential now to address the traditional and modern problems of diplomacy as it was at the Versailles Conference.