This volume is intended to complement Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations, another book of essays on diplomatic history that I coedited with Thomas G. Paterson in 1991. The essays in that book dealt with some of the new conceptual approaches to the study of foreign relations; these essays provide an overview of the recent literature in that field. Most of them first appeared in the journal Diplomatic History. They grew out of the journal's efforts to keep its readers abreast of the newest literature and to assess the state of the field – both missions appropriate to a journal of record. Because readers responded favorably to these efforts, it made sense to update the essays and bring them together in a single volume for scholars who specialize in diplomatic history and related fields, and especially for graduate students who are seeking a basic mastery of the most recent literature.

In the preface to Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations, Paterson and I struck an optimistic note. We were excited by the way many diplomatic historians were experimenting with new conceptual approaches and by the cross-fertilization that was going on with other fields. The results revealed a new vitality in a field of history that has been wrenched by numerous controversies and repeated criticism. The essays in this volume capture some of that vitality as well. To be sure, there is much room for criticism, as my own contributions suggest.