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Great Power Diplomacy: The Skill of Statecraft from Attila the Hun to Kissinger
A captivating history of diplomacy--and an urgent reminder of why we need to revive its lost arts to survive in a dangerous era of great power competition
From the beginning of time, human societies have found themselves confronted by enemies too numerous or ferocious to defeat solely by force of arms. In these dramatic moments, wise leaders have turned to diplomacy to rearrange the gameboard in their favor and stymie seemingly unstoppable foes. In Great Power Diplomacy, American historian and diplomat A. Wess Mitchell recounts the forgotten story of how history's most legendary empires have used diplomacy as a tool of grand strategy to outwit, outmaneuver, and outlast militarily superior opponents.
Through fifteen centuries of history, Great Power Diplomacy recreates the perilous junctures, colorful personalities, and intricate statecraft that led to some of history's most stunning diplomatic achievements--and greatest disasters. The protagonists include giants like Richelieu, Metternich, Bismarck, and Kissinger, but also a lesser-known cast of scoundrels, eunuchs, drunkards, and fools. At every turn, fortune favored those great powers with the foresight and dexterity to build winning alliances, splinter enemy coalitions, and, when necessary, make peace with their bitterest foes.
Diplomacy of this kind has become a lost art in recent years as Western elites embraced the illusion that globalization and the spread of democracy would create a borderless world where nations would live in harmony and war would be abolished from the human story. But, as Great Power Diplomacy reveals, we will need to rediscover the secrets of skillful statecraft as the world enters an unstable new era in which continent-sized great powers compete for territory, resources, and prestige. By recalling diplomacy's rich past, we can equip ourselves for a more dangerous future.
From the beginning of time, human societies have found themselves confronted by enemies too numerous or ferocious to defeat solely by force of arms. In these dramatic moments, wise leaders have turned to diplomacy to rearrange the gameboard in their favor and stymie seemingly unstoppable foes. In Great Power Diplomacy, American historian and diplomat A. Wess Mitchell recounts the forgotten story of how history's most legendary empires have used diplomacy as a tool of grand strategy to outwit, outmaneuver, and outlast militarily superior opponents.
Through fifteen centuries of history, Great Power Diplomacy recreates the perilous junctures, colorful personalities, and intricate statecraft that led to some of history's most stunning diplomatic achievements--and greatest disasters. The protagonists include giants like Richelieu, Metternich, Bismarck, and Kissinger, but also a lesser-known cast of scoundrels, eunuchs, drunkards, and fools. At every turn, fortune favored those great powers with the foresight and dexterity to build winning alliances, splinter enemy coalitions, and, when necessary, make peace with their bitterest foes.
Diplomacy of this kind has become a lost art in recent years as Western elites embraced the illusion that globalization and the spread of democracy would create a borderless world where nations would live in harmony and war would be abolished from the human story. But, as Great Power Diplomacy reveals, we will need to rediscover the secrets of skillful statecraft as the world enters an unstable new era in which continent-sized great powers compete for territory, resources, and prestige. By recalling diplomacy's rich past, we can equip ourselves for a more dangerous future.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published October 14, 2025
About the author
A. Wess Mitchell
6 books16 followersAaron Wess Mitchell is the Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State. The former president of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, DC, Mitchell holds a B.A. in History from Texas Tech University, a M.A. from the Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Otto Suhr Institut für Politikwissenschaft at Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 22, 2025
Standard, gullible claptrap about the west "securing peace and democracy" while the rest of the planet thinks in more brutal, 'primitive' terms (i.e. realpolitik and such). Under this conceptual scheme, all the objective evil we do is thus a 'reactive, necessary evil' 😂.
Parts of his book are valuable, but only when discussing the history of diplomacy as a whole in the premodern world. The value judgments that Mitchell attaches to the narrative, however, are often one-dimensional (especially as it pertains to the West as a concept).
What Mitchell is too cowardly to admit (or maybe too dim?) is that politics is, universally speaking, a dirty art -- on ALL sides. Not just when "they" do it. The funny part is that he seems to be aware of this now and then, but buries it in rhetoric quickly.
Seriously, how does this crap even pass for analysis? 🤣
Parts of his book are valuable, but only when discussing the history of diplomacy as a whole in the premodern world. The value judgments that Mitchell attaches to the narrative, however, are often one-dimensional (especially as it pertains to the West as a concept).
What Mitchell is too cowardly to admit (or maybe too dim?) is that politics is, universally speaking, a dirty art -- on ALL sides. Not just when "they" do it. The funny part is that he seems to be aware of this now and then, but buries it in rhetoric quickly.
Seriously, how does this crap even pass for analysis? 🤣
March 14, 2026
Scholarly and convincing. I wasn't fully aware of some of the scenarios, but the need for diplomacy was ever present, regardless.
May 3, 2026
Really enjoyed the book, thought it illustrated some prescient lessons for the current geopolitical situation. I just had a few wishes, including an explanation of the “jurists” role. Mitchell essentially delineates the practitioners of strategy as the diplomat (whose role he explains throughout the book), the soldier (whose role is fairly self explanatory in the event that diplomacy fails), and the jurist. Presumably the jurist has SOME role to play in forming a state’s grand strategy, even if its end goal to transcend human conflict is ill fated (just as the soldier has a role but sole pursuit of the soldier’s goal is folly). I would have appreciated a quick explanation as to what that role is and how it could slot into the current exercise of diplomacy.
Secondly, I would have appreciated 1-2, more contemporary case studies of non-Western states. The author addresses the use of only Western case studies and presents a totally rational argument for those selections. However, throughout the 20th century, as states have begun forming and performing diplomacy in a more uniform way, based (in part!!!) on Western institutions and ideas, I would have appreciated an exploration of how non-Western states have done so. This would be particularly salient as
current great power competition involves a non-Western state (China) and might include others in the future (e.g. India). That might be outside the scope of this book but would love to hear more about that angle.
Overall, lovely book! While it is not perfect, and I would be curious to read an expert’s comments on the chapters they have knowledge about, I would highly recommend!
Secondly, I would have appreciated 1-2, more contemporary case studies of non-Western states. The author addresses the use of only Western case studies and presents a totally rational argument for those selections. However, throughout the 20th century, as states have begun forming and performing diplomacy in a more uniform way, based (in part!!!) on Western institutions and ideas, I would have appreciated an exploration of how non-Western states have done so. This would be particularly salient as
current great power competition involves a non-Western state (China) and might include others in the future (e.g. India). That might be outside the scope of this book but would love to hear more about that angle.
Overall, lovely book! While it is not perfect, and I would be curious to read an expert’s comments on the chapters they have knowledge about, I would highly recommend!
January 5, 2026
This review is for the Kindle Edition
I give the book 3 stars, noting that while it contains valuable historical information on diplomacy, it suffers from excessive redundancy. The book consists of nine chapters plus notes, bibliography, index, and map notes (totaling 328 pages).
Each chapter presents definitions and historical background for various case studies—ranging from the Byzantines, Habsburgs, Ottomans, Prussia, England, and others—spanning roughly 450 AD to the late 20th century. Although the case studies are well-written, I feel the author repeatedly revisits the same themes, making sections feel repetitive.
The review highlights interesting insights into the development of statecraft, such as the rise of diplomatic institutions, the use of envoys and ambassadors for gathering intelligence, and the effective reporting practices of 15th‑century Venetian diplomats. The Author also lists key lessons on effective diplomacy, emphasizing:
The need for adequate military and economic power
The value of specialized regional expertise (“China Hands”)
The importance of trust-building, thorough reporting, alliances, covert operations, and strategic timing
Diplomacy as a bridge between limited power and national objectives
Bottom line: I recommend the book for its detailed historical content, but I caution readers that the repetitive writing style may feel tedious.
I give the book 3 stars, noting that while it contains valuable historical information on diplomacy, it suffers from excessive redundancy. The book consists of nine chapters plus notes, bibliography, index, and map notes (totaling 328 pages).
Each chapter presents definitions and historical background for various case studies—ranging from the Byzantines, Habsburgs, Ottomans, Prussia, England, and others—spanning roughly 450 AD to the late 20th century. Although the case studies are well-written, I feel the author repeatedly revisits the same themes, making sections feel repetitive.
The review highlights interesting insights into the development of statecraft, such as the rise of diplomatic institutions, the use of envoys and ambassadors for gathering intelligence, and the effective reporting practices of 15th‑century Venetian diplomats. The Author also lists key lessons on effective diplomacy, emphasizing:
The need for adequate military and economic power
The value of specialized regional expertise (“China Hands”)
The importance of trust-building, thorough reporting, alliances, covert operations, and strategic timing
Diplomacy as a bridge between limited power and national objectives
Bottom line: I recommend the book for its detailed historical content, but I caution readers that the repetitive writing style may feel tedious.
March 23, 2026
I have had few opportunities in which I could receive a lesson through the pages of a book. This book is a journey across centuries of diplomacy, crafted in the moments of greatest uncertainty for the nations and empires the author selects as examples. In the last 40 years, the world has drifted away from and forgotten what is essential in the realm of diplomacy and strategy: the impossibility of shaping at will the realities of power that constrain the room for maneuver of nations and their leaders. Today, generations of internationalists, politicians, and military officers believe there exists a combination of means capable of molding reality in their favor. History teaches that there are geographic, social, cultural, and material realities that escape any recipe for achieving one outcome or another. And this book serves as a great warning about the times when great diplomats and statesmen had to act, and the acceptance of their realities as the first condition for aligning a strategy that would allow their nations to endure. Diplomacy is a lost and thankless art, but one that in the 21st century must eventually be rescued to prevent the political destruction of many nations that move clumsily and recklessly, without a sense of time or transcendence
April 22, 2026
Whether you are a diplomat, politician, instructor of history or civics, student, or an informed citizen,
this is a book worthy of your time.
this is a book worthy of your time.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews