The Diplomatic Disposition
The simplest explanation for why diplomats became representatives of a transformative conception of peace, and one to which they are surprisingly willing to subscribe when the heat is on, is that they are a pretty over determined crowd. It may be that the vices of diplomacy appear to be in general…those of the surrounding society and of the time' and that diplomats spend most of their time simply trying to carry out the instructions of their governments. If the prevailing assumption among governments and people is that a stronger world order is needed, then it should come as no surprise that diplomats will be engaged in its construction. But this begs the question of where the prevailing assumptions about diplomacy come from in a way which is unflattering to the profession, and it sits uneasily with the sense diplomats have of themselves as an elite.