Javan Frazier: Review of George W. Liebmann's "Diplomacy between the Wars: Five Diplomats and the Shaping of the Modern World"

Javan Frazier is assistant professor of history at Middle Georgia College.

As the title of this work clearly states, George W. Liebmann examines the influence and contributions that five diplomats had on international affairs in the early twentieth century. Liebmann’s subjects are American Lewis Einstein, Sir Horace Rumbold of the United Kingdom, the German Count Johan Bernstorff, Count Carlo Sforza of Italy, and Isment Inonu of Turkey. The heart of Liebmann’s argument is that the way these men practiced their craft allowed them to be more effective and influential than current diplomats. Furthermore, he contends, if political leaders and others in government had accepted more of these men’s ideas, most often presented in reports to their governments or in books, the intensity of international relations and conflicts in the twentieth century would have been reduced significantly and war possibly would have been averted.

This book cannot be considered a biography of these men. Liebmann does describe some childhood and young adult experiences, but his focus is on the diplomat careers of these men. Even here, the author often stresses a particular part of their careers rather than their entire careers. For example, Liebmann focuses significantly on Sforza’s exile from fascist Italy but only nominally discusses his earlier service from 1896 to 1921. In addition, Liebmann only briefly mentions family, marital, financial, or other aspects of the lives of these diplomats. Such limitations are understandable for this work, yet the author could have offered more insight into the actions and writings of these men by flushing out other aspects of their lives.

Liebmann’s writing relies too heavily on quotations from the five diplomats. The author acknowledges that he might include too much detail but the issue goes beyond one of detail. What is the point of all these quotations? One remarkable instance of both too much detail and a question of purpose can be found in the chapter on Sforza. Sforza wrote a book in 1930 called Makers of Modern Europe. In this book, Sforza described most of the major and many of the minor figures of European statecraft of the early twentieth century, such as Vladimir Lenin, Franz Joseph, Pius X, and Marshal Foch. It is unclear why Liebmann uses so many quotations from Sforza’s book in Diplomacy between the Wars. Presumably, it is to demonstrate the extent of Sforza’s knowledge but five pages of his statements is excessive....