International pecking orders : the politics and practice of multilateral diplomacy /

Pouliot's book is a welcome contribution to the international relations (IR) literature on the practice of diplomacy. Few works in the scholarly study of IR attempt to rigorously explain how multilateral diplomacy works and its larger effects. Pouliot's framework for understanding seeks to move beyond structural and agency approaches by integrating social theories to explain diplomacy and outcomes in world politics. His focus is on hierarchy and diplomatic pecking orders--how they come about, how they manifest themselves, and how they subsequently affect political outcomes. In essence, the book seeks to explain "social theater" by looking closely at the practice of diplomacy. Two case studies provide the empirical basis: negotiation of the 2010 NATO Strategic Concept, and Security Council reform at the United Nations. Pouliot concludes that while diplomacy brings practitioners together to resolve specific issues, it also has larger "structural effects" that transcend the issues at hand. The case studies provide a rich source of material for Pouliot's theorizing. However, as he admits, his book does not examine how hierarchy and standing evolve over time. This work highlights areas for future work in this subfield of international relations. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Jeffrey Fields, University of Southern California