Diplomacy: The elephant in the room

Explore a selection of fascinating diplomatic gifts with excerpts from Brummel’s ‘Diplomatic Gifts: A History in Fifty Presents’

The World Today Published 4 February 2022 2 minute READ

Since pre-historic times, diplomatic gifts have revealed the contemporary power dynamics and structures at play between clans, tribes and states. With his selection of 50 gifts from across the years, Paul Brummel explores their social function. Whether an expression of solidarity or an exercise of authority, here are a selection of fascinating gifts and edited excerpts from Brummel’s ‘Diplomatic Gifts: A History in Fifty Presents’.

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