55. Basler Renaissancekolloquium «Renaissance of Diplomacy»

Mit Verena Krebs (Bochum), Bram van Leuveren (Utrecht), Harriet Rudolph (Regensburg)

The European Renaissance is often thought of as a crucial stepping stone in the long genesis of diplomatic practices, but (how) can we understand their complex comprisal of formal and informal elements in terms of a general historical framework? Is it possible to combine various established perspectives – e.g. on institutions, actors and networks, or underlying socio-cultural currents – in an explanatorily meaningful way, and, if so, to what purpose and effect? And, most crucially, can Renaissance diplomacy be thought of as a transregional phenomenon, spurred by outside influences and connectivities as much as by domestic struggles and upheavals?

Looking beyond old and new diplomatic histories, the 55^th Basel Renaissance Colloquium aims to explore how a multi-layered kaleidoscope of interests, objects, channels, flows, and contexts enabled diplomatic exchange to transpire and flourish. Thus seeking to complement and extend prior conceptualizations, we propose to examine diplomacy – broadly understood as the intent of projecting power by non-violent means in pursuit of political goals – as an arena of encounters: a spectacle of discourses and intentions, successes and failures, (mis-)understandings and contingencies that gradually (and discontinuously) carved new inter-relational avenues for (self-)assertion, negotiation, and compromise. The broad array of Renaissance historiography may thus also serve as a conceptual starting point from which to venture beyond its traditional chronological and spatial boundaries.

Renaissance of Diplomacy thus invites to revisit the social, material, and intellectual conditions for emerging powers and hierarchies to develop into customized forms of interaction. The meeting is intended as an interdisciplinary forum open to (and seeking to combine) methods from e.g. social, political, intellectual, and art history, and/or perspectives that engage with non-European/global contexts. We are particularly interested in comparative, connected and/or gendered approaches as well as in thematic contributions relating to narratives and imaginaries of belonging, the politization of ideas and artistic practices, and the construction, representation, and differentiation of collective identities, among others.

The colloquium will allow for individual presentations of about 30 minutes in length, followed by questions and a final roundtable discussion.

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