Performing Diplomacy

Diplomacy is a performance. The stage is set on the streets and palaces that centre upon the spaces of political power. As this volume explores, diplomacy as 'spectacle' is no mere metaphor for political interaction, but an elevation of how it was practiced as performance. No other activity in the early modern world yielded to such an intensive flow of cultural exchange, artistic endeavour to be patronised, or expense to be lavished on the aggrandisement of events, entertainments, and festivities. Indeed, these efforts were orchestrated: the ambassadors were both impresarii and lead actors. Understanding the ambassador as a cultural mediator is the recognition of the power of diplomatic activity to transform culture through the process of mediation, and more, the appreciation of the sphere of diplomatic mediation as a most fertile ground for cultural invention.