Being States and Making Diplomacy in Early Modern Europe: The Danish Kingdom and the Dutch Republic c. 1568-1632

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Abstract

According to modern concepts the earth is divided into sovereign states. The sovereign states form a state system. They communicate by diplomacy and express their mutual recognition by establishing diplomatic relations. In practice, by mutually accrediting a permanent representative at the seat of government.

All these concepts were very new or fully unknown around 1600. But there existed a diplomatic practice consisting of a number of tools. The most basic of these was the letter. The development of relations between the Netherlands and Denmark 1568-1632 shows how the increasing use and sophistication of these tools developed into a cultural pattern which, expressed in the words used today, constituted mutual diplomatic recognition.

 

Original languageEnglish
JournalTijdschrift voor Skandinavistiek
Issue number27:1, 2006
Pages (from-to)3-23
Number of pages20
ISSN0168-2148
Publication statusPublished - 2006

Keywords

  • Faculty of Humanities
  • history
  • foreign policy
  • Frederik II
  • Christian IV
  • Netherlands

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