“When it comes to diplomatic practice, I am including all forms of diplomacy in which the representative of the nation-state is regarded as the preeminent actor, such as public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy, information and education programming, and economic development. Agoraphobic reactions to disruption and dissent causes its sufferers to miss a great deal of what is going on outside the ministry gates.”

“The deployment of these “envoys of friendship,” as Chinese president Xi Jinping called the pandas in 2023, is an example of soft power…If they can build up more affection toward their country, then it becomes a lot easier for China to convince other world leaders to partner with them and embrace their ideas.”

In 1982, at the height of the Cold War, Samantha Smith, a young American girl of 10, undertakes a trip to the USSR, at the invitation of Yuri Andropov, the leader of the Soviet Union. Ambassador of peace or pawn in the diplomatic games, discover the story of the young girl who would initiate the reconciliation between the United States and the USSR.

“With the influence of non-state actors on the rise, diplomatic systems have no choice but to evolve. Kelley addresses an array of crucial issues related to this evolution, issues that diplomats and scholars must grapple with. His book will be of great value to this audience.” ―Philip Seib, University of Southern California

“In homage to his tweeting activist protagonists, Kelley has produced a well-rounded and user-friendly synthesis of diplomacy's creative breakdown for their further perusal.” ―Iver B. Neumann, London School of Economics

One of the Diplomacy & Statecraft’s TOP TEN most read articles.

“The continued rise of the non-state actor in twenty-first century international politics issues a potent challenge to state primacy in the area of diplomacy. Diplomacy's statist tradition, once the bedrock organising institution for pursuing international politics, is ceding influence to non-state actors—the “new” diplomats—who have displayed impressive skill at shaping policy through means that foreign ministries fail to grasp. This article presents a radical view of diplomatic agency: the age of diplomacy as an institution is giving way to an age of diplomacy as a behavior. Yet despite who dominates in the art of influence, caveats remain and it appears likely that each side will need the other to achieve successful statecraft in the years to come.”