The Art of Diplomacy: How American Negotiators Reached Historic Agreements That Changed the World
Stuart E. Eizenstat
Published: May 2024
American diplomat Stuart E. Eizenstat details some of the most critical international negotiations of the past five decades, highlighting the effort and determination American negotiators invested to see them through. These events range from the U.S.-China rapprochement to the accords in the Middle East, nuclear talks with Iran, and the Kyoto Protocol. Based on over a hundred interviews with senior American diplomats and leaders and Eizenstat’s own experience leading some of these negotiations, the book is more than a recounting of history, offering an insider’s perspective into how these negotiations unfolded.
Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare
Edward Fishman
Published: February 2025
Edward Fishman, a former U.S. State Department sanctions official and an expert on economic statecraft, demystifies the new, unconventional weapons in America’s arsenal— economic sanctions, export controls, and tariffs. For better or worse, economic warfare has become America’s primary strategy in dealing with geopolitical threats. Fishman details how this reinvention of foreign policy came about and what it portends for the global economy.
Lost Decade: The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power
Robert D. Blackwill and Richard Fontaine
Published: June 2024
A former US ambassador to India and an American foreign policy analyst come together to assess America’s performance on its ‘Pivot to Asia.’ They reveal the story and rationale behind the pivot and the progress thus far, outlining a path forward if the U.S. is to truly realise the intent and strategic logic behind the policy.
Nehru’s First Recruits: The Diplomats Who Built Independent India’s Foreign Policy
Kallol Bhattacherjee
Published: May 2024
Kallol Bhattacherjee’s book takes readers through the lives, experiences, and professional contributions of independent India’s earliest diplomats. While some names are relatively unknown, they played crucial roles in shaping India’s post-independence engagements with its neighbours and with European colonial powers such as France and Portugal, which still held on to their enclaves.
An Indian Woman in Islamabad: 1997–2000
Ruchi Ghanashyam
Published: August 2024
Amb. Ghanashyam’s posting in Islamabad, besides making her the first Indian woman diplomat to be stationed there, coincided with an eventful period in India-Pakistan relations. There were the nuclear tests in 1998, followed by PM Vajpayee’s Lahore visit, the Kargil War, the Musharraf coup, and the IC 814 hijacking in 1999. In this memoir, she skilfully weaves these historical events with her personal experiences living in Pakistan, narrating the challenges she faced as an Indian diplomat and a woman in a traditional, patriarchal society.
Apostles of Development: Six Economists and the World They Made
David C. Engerman
Published: May 2025
Apostles of Development traces the lives and contributions of six economists—Amartya Sen, Manmohan Singh, Mahbub ul Haq, Jagdish Bhagwati, Rehman Sobhan, and Lal Jayawardena. Despite developing different economic doctrines, the ‘Apostles’ shared formative experiences: all were born under colonial rule, educated at Cambridge, and deeply concerned with poverty eradication. By engaging with their intellectual legacies, Engerman contributes meaningfully to ongoing debates about development and inequality.
Indian Soldiers in World War I: Race and Representation in an Imperial War
Published: July 2021
Andrew T. Jarboe narrates the story of World War I from a fresh perspective, exploring the role Indian soldiers played in Britain’s war effort and ultimate victory. Besides their wartime experiences and the perception back home of their activities, the book discusses how the war hardened the Empire’s racist and administrative policies, in turn stirring nationalist sentiments.
The Other Side of Diplomacy
Jayshree Misra Tripathi (editor)
Published: February 2025
Curated by Jayshree Misra Tripathi, this anthology offers a unique glimpse into diplomatic life through the lens of the spouses of diplomats. It is not a work of diplomatic history or a guide on negotiating with tough neighbours. Instead, true to its name, it takes readers through the everyday lives of diplomats and their families as they navigate new countries and cultures every few years.