Preventive diplomacy in historical perspective

The perils and difficulties of recent great power efforts to defuse and contain small power disputes have been much remarked upon. This paper justifies and operationalizes comparative investigation of eight nineteenth- and twentieth-century preventive diplomacy cases directed to small power ethnic conflict, to document the interplay between such conflict and great power behaviour under a variety of conditions. The purpose is to seek differentiated, historically grounded generalizations, and more sustainable foundations for contemporary policy. Similarities and divergences initially uncovered between the cases are described, and it is argued that these remain relevant despite apparently unique contemporary developments.