Under the wire : how the telegraph changed diplomacy / David Paull Nickles.

By:

Nickles, David Paull, 1966-

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Harvard historical studies ; v. 144.Publication details: Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2003.Description: 1 online resource (265 pages) : illustrationsContent type:

text

Media type:

computer

Carrier type:

online resource

ISBN:

9780674041554
0674041550
9780674010352
0674010353

Subject(s): Genre/Form:

Additional physical formats: Print version:: Under the wire.DDC classification:

327.2/09/034 22

LOC classification:

HE7631 .N516 2003eb

Other classification:

NW 3570

Online resources:

Click here to access online

Contents:

Introduction -- I. Control. The Anglo-American crisis of 1812 ; Diplomatic autonomy and telecommunications -- II. Speed. The Trent affair ; Speed and diplomacy ; Diplomatic time -- III. The medium. The Zimmermann telegram ; Technical and economic factors.

Summary: How did the telegraph, a new and revolutionary form of communication, affect diplomats, who tended to resist change? In a study based on multinational research, historian Nickles examines the critical impact of the telegraph on the diplomacy of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Case studies in crisis diplomacy introduce thematic discussions on the autonomy of diplomats; the effects of increased speed on decision making and public opinion; the neglected role of clerks in diplomacy; and the issues of expense, garbled text, espionage, and technophobia that initially made foreign ministries wary of telegraphy. Ultimately, the introduction of the telegraph contributed to the centralization of foreign ministries and the rising importance of signals intelligence. The faster pace of diplomatic disputes invited more emotional decisions by statesmen, while public opinion often exercised a belligerent influence on crises developing over a shorter time period.--From publisher description.

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Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-256) and index.

How did the telegraph, a new and revolutionary form of communication, affect diplomats, who tended to resist change? In a study based on multinational research, historian Nickles examines the critical impact of the telegraph on the diplomacy of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Case studies in crisis diplomacy introduce thematic discussions on the autonomy of diplomats; the effects of increased speed on decision making and public opinion; the neglected role of clerks in diplomacy; and the issues of expense, garbled text, espionage, and technophobia that initially made foreign ministries wary of telegraphy. Ultimately, the introduction of the telegraph contributed to the centralization of foreign ministries and the rising importance of signals intelligence. The faster pace of diplomatic disputes invited more emotional decisions by statesmen, while public opinion often exercised a belligerent influence on crises developing over a shorter time period.--From publisher description.