British power and stability: The historical record

What explains the persistence and proliferation of the resident ambassador? Why is the role apparently important both to the conduct of international affairs and to the work of governments? I do not try to propose a new theory of ambassadors, but I do offer conclusions about the nature of living in a globalized society of states where the economic logic of markets and the political logic of communities are at cross‐purposes. It is a world in which we depend on institutions to help us maintain order and stability. Ambassadors are one of those institutions. At one level they are the concrete day by day reproduction of the society of states. At another level they act on behalf of the members of their community, helping that community to maintain its strength and cohesion by doing what needs to be done, abroad. An increase in the intensity of interactions among states, therefore, seems to lead to an increase in diplomatic representation facilitated rather than impeded by the new technologies of transportation and communications. Ambassadors are still lying abroad, it seems, because changes in technology have brought ‘abroad’ much closer to home while the myriad effects of globalization have made much more of abroad relevant to people and their governments. Far from being in decline, the resident ambassador seems likely to continue flourishing.