Indian Council of World Affairs

Call for Papers for the Special Issue on Diplomatic History of India Quarterly, January-March 2021

Concept Note

Diplomatic History is uncharted terrain in Indian scholarship and research. When it has surfaced it has done so mostly outside departments of history and international relations. Yet its ability to bring us closer to a more reasoned assessment of the decisions involved in war and peace in our times is significant. Historical evidence of past decisions and events, the diplomacy that precedes war and conflict for example, often upends conventional views of blame and responsibility. More importantly, when historians read archives about the same event, it can often lead to a convergence of views on origins and impact, affecting contemporary prevailing narratives.

2.  For these reasons alone, it becomes imperative to focus on the current state of the discipline of Diplomatic History in India, on building a future for it, and the often pioneering efforts by scholars and diplomats who raise new questions about seemingly settled debates. The India Quarterly, therefore, invites contributions on issues related to Diplomatic History and on scholarly research on diplomatic histories in its first issue for 2021.

3.  Contributors are encouraged to send us original contributions on the issues mentioned below as well as on other issues not listed here but related to diplomatic history: 

1. 1. The state of the discipline of Diplomatic History in India
   2. The case for building the discipline of Diplomatic History in India
   3. Politics and the archive
   4. Nationalism and foreign policy: the diplomatic history of the Indian National Movement
   5. Neighbourhood diplomacy: the construction of a region
   6. Negotiating the end of colonialism in South Asia: Britain, France and Portugal
   7. Maritime histories
   8. Making foreign policy: the culture of diplomacy in the 20^th century
   9. Borderlands, history writing and foreign policy making
   10. Diplomatic encounters in Contested Spaces: History, Foreign Policy and State-making in South Asia 

4.  Deadline for papers, book reviews and commentaries: 15 October 2020. 

5.  Please see instructions for contributors listed on our website or write in to editor.iq[at]icwa[dot]in for further queries.