"The System of Odd and Even Numbers": Lewis Namier the Diplomatic Historian. Issue 2 (3rd April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Otte, T.G.
• Is Part Of: Diplomacy and statecraft. Volume 32:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 351
• Page End: 374
• Publication Date: 2021-04-03
• Subjects: Diplomacy -- Periodicals; World politics -- Periodicals; International relations -- Periodicals; 327
• DOI: 10.1080/09592296.2021.1913360
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-2296

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Sir Lewis Namier has left a deep, if contested, imprint on studies of eighteenth-century British political history. Namier the student of great power relations, by contrast, has been largely allowed to slide into oblivion. It is a curious fate, for in his day his public profile as a commentator on international affairs was very high. This article attempts to reconstruct Namier as a diplomatic historian, the intellectual assumptions that underpinned his work, the manner in which he framed the study of European great power politics, and the methods he employed.