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Images, narratives and practices of diplomacy occur on a daily basis. The everydayness

and ordinariness of diplomacy, however, is not readily acknowledged – at least within the

discipline of International Relations (IR). In matters diplomatic, during the last century,

the discipline predominantly concentrated on the activities of the official agents of states

as infused by the aristocratic and bureaucratic tradition of the European international

society (Satow 1922, Nicolson 1939, Kissinger 1994). Even among critical IR scholars

considering the ‘future of diplomacy’ more recently, diplomacy is only reserved for the

work of diplomats representing sovereign territorial units. It is not meant …

This article explores biopolitical practices that extend beyond national borders and take the whole

of humanity as their province. It looks at how attempts to secure and optimize conditions of living

in Africa are not merely governmental in scope but also diplomatic in their conceptualization and

conduct. It specifically examines the merging of diplomacy, defence and development (or the 3Ds),

which purports to optimize life and shape ways of being in areas that cannot be ‘fully governed’

or resist domestication. It assesses the impact of diplomatic pluralization, characterized by the

militarization of diplomacy and development, the diplomatization of the military, …

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