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This essay is an exploratory study of the roles that non-human animals have played in diplomatic relations. Based on a few observations and case studies from the mid-twentieth century, it discusses how we may bridge the gap between the study of human and non-human animals in diplomatic history. It suggests that one way can be to focus on how humans have in practice used animals in diplomatic relations. In what contexts and capacities are non-human animals mentioned in diplomatic actors’ letters and diaries? In what shapes and settings do they appear in media coverage – written text and photographs – of diplomatic actors, and what significance has media ascribed to their presence? When do different sources describe non-human animals as an advantage or disadvantage for diplomatic relations? The essay surveys stories of the diplomatic use of animals ranging from the emotional effects of a diplomatic dog to the culinary consequences of keeping chickens for food.

Unravelling the mechanisms of daily diplomacy in the mid-20th century, this book follows one Dutch diplomatic couple, the van Kleffens, on their postings from the 1930s to the 1950s to offer a new perspective on how non-officials and personal politics shaped the postwar world.

Combining private and public source materials, Erlandsson foregrounds the political culture of diplomacy and highlights events and people which have been left off the official record. The book integrates the detailed study of behind-the-scenes diplomatic practice into the larger narrative of traditional diplomatic history, connecting social practices with political outcomes. Exploring how women's tea drinking was used to achieve post-war foreign policy and how Rosa, a Guatemalan cook, contributed to the international standing of the Netherlands, it offers a more inclusive history by recognising the diplomatic work done by actors who were not diplomats. In doing so it demonstrates the ways in which diplomacy was class-bound, gendered and racialized, and proves that historicizing gender and cultural norms is crucial to understanding political and international history.

This article argues that more attention for the role of diplomats' partners, who in the studied period were almost exclusively female, offers new insights into the daily practices of Dutch twentieth-century diplomacy. It begins with a short overview of research on diplomats' wives from other countries. The authors then examine the state of our knowledge about Dutch diplomats' wives, discussing why there is so little attention for this subject in the Netherlands. Finally, a case study highlights the activities of the wives of two central figures in Dutch diplomacy at the Washington embassy in 1947-1964: Margaret van Kleffens-Horstmann and Anne van Roijen-Snouck Hurgronje. The study shows that daily diplomatic work was in practice a job for two people, with tasks divided along gendered lines. Wives made women's networks available to male diplomats and did representative, social, and informal work that was considered crucial to diplomatic success.