The European Diplomatic Corps - Diplomats and International Cooperation from Westphalia to Maastricht

Are diplomats agents of international co-operation or transmission belts for states? Traditional theories of international relations seriously underestimate the ability of diplomats as a collective to impact outcomes in the international environment beyond initial state preferences. The European Diplomatic Corps argues that diplomats comprise a transnational network of experts or ''epistemic community'' which has been critical in determining co-operation or non-co-operation among European states. The cases considered are the congresses of Westphalia (1648), Berlin (1878), Paris (1919) and Maastricht (1992).