David Paull Nickles - Under the Wire. How the Telegraph Changed Diplomacy [2003][A]

Book Description
Release date: December 30, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0674010353 | ISBN-13: 978-0674010352 | Edition: 1ST
How did the telegraph, a new and revolutionary form of communication, affect diplomats, who tended to resist change? In a study based on impressive multinational research, David Paull Nickles examines the critical impact of the telegraph on the diplomacy of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Case studies in crisis diplomacy--the War of 1812, the Trent affair during the U.S. Civil War, and the famous 1917 Zimmermann telegram--introduce wide-ranging thematic discussions on the autonomy of diplomats; the effects of increased speed on decision making and public opinion; the neglected role of clerks in diplomacy; and the issues of expense, garbled text, espionage, and technophobia that initially made foreign ministries wary of telegraphy. Ultimately, the introduction of the telegraph contributed to the centralization of foreign ministries and the rising importance of signals intelligence. The faster pace of diplomatic disputes invited more emotional decisions by statesmen, while public opinion often exercised a belligerent influence on crises developing over a shorter time period.
Under the Wire offers a fascinating new perspective on the culture of diplomacy and the social history of technology.

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Telegraphy, which conferred the ability to send messages at great speed across vast distances, "had the potential to transform diplomacy," writes Nickles, and, as a historian at the Department of State, he is well situated to explore how these transformations were received by the generally conservative corps of American diplomats. In this volume, Nickles examines three cases from diplomatic history. First, he looks at a pre-telegraphy incident, the War of 1812, and concludes, contrary to common assumptions, that telegraphy did not always deprive diplomats abroad of their autonomy. The Trent affair of 1861, when telegraphy was still relatively new, illuminates how the speed of telegraphy affected the speed of decision-making and its impact on the "aristocratic, leisurely world of diplomacy." Finally, the case of the infamous Zimmermann telegram of WWI explores, among other issues, the vulnerability of telegraphy to espionage. This fascinating but somewhat specialized study will interest primarily students of diplomatic history and of the impact of technological change on society.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Nickles examines the impact of the telegraph on diplomacy during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His inquiry centers on three incidents: the War of 1812, the Trent affair during the Civil War, and Britain's decoding and exploitation of the Zimmermann telegram of 1917. Nickles' narratives illustrate the way delay could either provoke or prevent a war, an option that the telegraph closed. Indeed the way the device led to centralization and fed bureaucracy annoyed the leisurely, aristocratic diplomats of late-nineteenth-century Europe, whose cultivated lassitude toward work Nickles well evokes in his anecdotes. Their snobbery elevated them above such plebian concerns as cipher security. Depicting how archaic factions resist change provides a popular hook to Nickles' study, which will strongly interest aspirants to careers in the foreign service. Gilbert Taylor
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Reviews
In this study of the impact of telegraphy on the management of international relations, the reader is rewarded time and again by finding original observations regarding familiar events. This is a book that can have a shaping effect not only on the field of international relations but on many others, since it compels one to think hard about how changes in technology affect behavior and thought among groups with deeply rooted traditions and beliefs. (Ernest R. May, Harvard University)

David Paull Nickles has plumbed the archives of four countries to determine just how transformative [the invention of the telegraph] really was. Under the Wire is a subtle and impressive examination of history. (Christian D. Brose Wall Street Journal 2004-01-07)

Nickles offers often interesting and different interpretations of well-known events. His is a timely and readable study of how changing technology impacted the role of traditional diplomats--and the degree to which they could be controlled from Washington. (Communication Booknotes Quarterly)

In a study based on impressive multinational research, Nickles examines the critical impact of the telegraph on the diplomacy of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries…It is an interesting study by a knowledgeable author and includes an excellent discussion of the Zimmerman Telegram incident. (Cryptologia 2004-04-01)

By focusing on the telegraph, Nickles reveals the complexity of interactions between technology and human behavior...in analyzing how telegraphy transformed diplomacy, he has made a signal contribution to the literatures on communications technology and on diplomatic history. And best of all, his book is a delight to read. (Daniel Headrick Victorian Studies)

About the Author
David Paull Nickles is a historian at the U.S. Department of State.