Peut-on parler d’une culture diplomatique à l’époque moderne ?

Historians consider that modern diplomacy belongs to the realm of culture as its legacy relies on the written word. Diplomatic writing is based upon an exchange between a government and its representatives, between the latter and their messengers and other intelligence gatherers. The written word implies the construction of a coherent discourse which coordinates secrecy and authorised public displays. If diplomatic messages are aimed to reach a sovereign, they hardly do so in their entirety. The diplomat needs strategies to dramatise the truncated summary. Diplomacy is thus linked with the art of writing, diplomacy is writing, diplomacy is literature. This compels us to question the status of writers-diplomats or diplomatic writers before the 19th century. This introductory chapter examines the diplomatic needs for culture (in the widest sense of the latter term), their theorisation and the political society’s response to them. It also discusses how culture is made to serve diplomatic agendas, and how diplomacy can serve culture and the cultural life of several countries