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Louis XVI, the Court of the Tuileries, and the Corps Diplomatique 1789–91

Caiani, Ambrogio Antonio (2016) Louis XVI, the Court of the Tuileries, and the Corps Diplomatique 1789–91. International History Review, 38 (3). pp. 421-439. ISSN 0707-5332. E-ISSN 1949-6540. (doi:10.1080/07075332.2015.1056820) (KAR id:49971)

Abstract

The French Revolution sought to erect an edifice which would bridge the chasm between ancien regime realpolitik and a more idealistic vision of international relations based on natural law. The deputies of the Constituent Assembly, despite their noble intentions, failed to do so. They ended up hurtling into an all-too familiar vortex, where appeals to natural law hid naked military aggression and strategic egocentrism. Whether this outcome was inevitable or contingent on circumstances continues to pose a dilemma for historical writing on the early Revolution. This article explores the question from the unmined perspective of the foreign Ambassadors resident in Paris during the French Revolution. It uses their unpublished despatches and French police reports to shed new light on the French Revolution’s alienation from the international relations system of the ancien regime.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/07075332.2015.1056820
Uncontrolled keywords: French Revolution; Franco-Polish relations; Revolutionary Wars
Subjects: D History General and Old World > DC France
J Political Science > JZ International relations
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of History
Depositing User: Ambrogio Caiani
Date Deposited: 31 Jul 2015 19:31 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 13:27 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/49971 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Caiani, Ambrogio Antonio.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3358-7277
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