Bureaucrats and Diplomats: A Period of Independence 1905–11

Abstract

By the end of the nineteenth century the foreign ministries of the major European powers were in need of reform. The rapid expansion of trade, finance and colonial acquisition had put new strains on the old machinery of diplomacy. Apart from the sheer increase in work-load the nature of diplomacy was changing. The monitoring and collation of political, economic and social data pointed to the end of amateur policy-making. Professionalism demanded team-work, team-work demanded organisation and training, and this in turn demanded reform. But reform was not likely to be welcomed by diplomats and officials who instinctively drew back at the thought of any encroachment on their privileges and traditions. There was a popular image of the functionary at the Quai d’Orsay weaving devious policies in the elegant building along the Seine and jealously protecting his prized isolation. This was not far from the truth. The lack of parliamentary interest in foreign affairs could take some of the blame, as could the Quai d’Orsay’s contempt for the parliamentary institutions themselves. This was partly a legacy from the old nobility, who were still an important influence in the Ministry despite the republican purges of Prime Minister Freycinet in the 1890s, partly the ancestral idea of diplomacy as purely the prerogative of diplomats, and partly the proverbial instability of French Cabinets which undermined the position and authority of the Foreign Minister.