Women, Diplomacy and International Politics since 1500 explores the role of women as agents of diplomacy in the trans-Atlantic world since the early modern age. Chapters cover a wide range of geographical contexts, including Europe, Russia, Britain and the United States, and trace the diversity of women's activities and the significance of their contributions.

Through a selection of case studies, the book throws into new perspective the operations of political power in local and national domains. This book is essential reading for all those interested in the history of diplomacy and the rise of international politics over the past five centuries.

Glenda Sluga is Professor of International History at the University of Sydney and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow. She has published widely on the cultural history of international relations, the history of European nationalisms, gender history, and the history of identity and difference. Her publications include Internationalism in the Age of Nationalism (2013), The Nation, Psychology and International Politics (2006), The Problem of Trieste and the Italo-Yugoslav Border (2001), and Gendering European History (2000).

Carolyn James is Cassamarca Associate Professor in the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies at Monash University. She is the author of two books on the 15th-century Italian literary figure, Giovanni Sabadino degli Arienti (1996 and 2002), a complete English translation and analysis of the late fourteenth century letters of Margherita Datini (co-authored with Antonio Pagliaro, 2012).

List of figures. Acknowledgements. List of contributors. Introduction: The Long International History of Women and Diplomacy Carolyn James and Glenda Sluga 1. Women and Diplomacy in Renaissance Italy Carolyn James 2. Cousins and Queens: Familial ties, political ambition and epistolary diplomacy in Renaissance Europe Ellie Woodacre 3. Dynastic relations on an international stage: Margaret de la Marck (1527-1599) and Arenberg family strategy during the Dutch Revolt Mirella Marini 4. Lady Anne Fanshawe, Ambassadress of England at the Court of Madrid (1664-1666) Laura Oliván Santaliestra 5. Marriage Plots: Royal Women, Marriage Diplomacy, and International Politics at the Spanish, French and Imperial Courts, 1665-1679 Silvia Z. Mitchell 6. "Paper negotiations": Women and Diplomacy in the Early Eighteenth Century Corina Bastian 7. Women, diplomacy and international politics, before and after the Congress of Vienna Glenda Sluga 8. The Tsar¿s Sister as State Diplomat: Maria Pavlovna Between Weimar and St. Petersburg on the Eve of the Congress of Vienna Franziska Schedewie 9. A 'Goodwill Ambassador' in the Post-Napoleonic Era: Roxandra Edling-Sturdza on the European Scene Stella Ghervas 10. Gendering Diplomatic History: Women in the British Diplomatic Service, c.1919-1972 Helen McCarthy 11. Gender and International Relations through the Lens of the League of Nations (1919-1945) Madeleine Herren 12. Advocating for a feminist internationalism between the wars Laura Beers 13. A Woman's Place is in the Embassy: America's First Female Chiefs of Mission, 1933-64 Philip Nash 14. Vangie Bruce's Diplomatic Salon: A Mid-Twentieth Century Portrait Kenneth Weisbrode 15. The Performance of Diplomacy: The Residence, Gender, and Diplomatic Wives in Late Twentieth-Century Sweden Nevra Biltekin. Index.