Personal Politics in the Postwar World: Western Diplomacy Behind the Scenes

233 Pages·2022·2.361 MB·English

by  Susanna Erlandsson

Personal Politics in the
Postwar World
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Personal Politics in the
Postwar World
Western Diplomacy Behind the Scenes
Susanna Erlandsson
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BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC
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First published in Great Britain 2022

Copyright © Susanna Erlandsson, 2022

Susanna Erlandsson has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act, 1988, to be identifi ed as Author of this work.

For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on pp. xiii–xiv constitute an
extension of this copyright page.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Erlandsson, Susanna, author.
Title: Personal politics in the postwar world : Western diplomacy behind
the scenes / Susanna Erlandsson.
Description: London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2021032687 (print) | LCCN 2021032688 (ebook) | ISBN
9781350150744 (hardback) | ISBN 9781350150751 (pdf) |
ISBN 9781350150768 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Netherlands–Foreign relations–1948- |
Netherlands–Foreign relations–1898–1948. | Kleffens, Eelco van. |
Kleffens, Margaret van. | Diplomacy–Social aspects. | International
relations–Social aspects. | World War, 1939–1945–Diplomatic history. |
Diplomats–Netherlands–Biography.
Classifi cation: LCC DJ288 .E75 2022 (print) | LCC DJ288 (ebook) | DDC
327.492009/04–dc23/eng/20211012
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021032687
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021032688

ISBN: HB: 978-1-3501-5074-4
ePDF: 978-1-3501-5075-1
eBook: 978-1-3501-5076-8

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For all the people behind the scenes
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction Th e personal politics of daily diplomacy 1
Diplomacy as a gendered institution 3
Th e micro study as method: background and materials 6
Conceptualizing trust as a bridge between personal and political 11
Setting the scene 15
Part One Th e Diplomatic Couple 17
1 Th e persistent notion of the incorporated wife 20
2 In love and diplomacy 27
3 Carte blanche? Diplomatic secrecy and marital trust 35
4 Th e diplomatic couple as template 44
Concluding remarks on the diplomatic couple 52
Part Two Th e Diplomatic Home 55
5 Homemaking for diplomats 58
6 Domestic staff 65
7 Th e home as a diplomatic arena 75
Concluding remarks on the diplomatic home 89
Part Th ree Dinner Diplomacy 93
8 Dinner diplomacy as an everyday practice 97
9 Diplomatic food 114
Concluding remarks on dinner diplomacy 125
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viii Contents
Part Four Diplomatic Aptitude 129
10. Diplomatic appearances 131
11. Diplomatic discourse 149
Concluding remarks on diplomatic aptitude 171
Conclusion B ehind the scenes of building the postwar world 175
Everyday power structures in Western diplomacy 175
Political impact of personal relationships 179
Diplomacy as a likeminded institution 189
Bibliography 197
Index 209
Illustrations
1.1 Eelco and Margaret van Kleff ens with their dog Jansen, New York
City, September 1946. Courtesy of the Netherlands National
Archives, Th e Hague, with permission of the Van Kleff ens family. 9
1.2 Women at work for the Netherlands Emergency Committee,
London 1941. Anefo/HIE. Courtesy of the Netherlands National
Archives, Th e Hague. 22
1.3 Margaret van Kleff ens with Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit at the
United Nations General Assembly of 30 September 1954.
Bettman/Getty Images. 51
1.4 Margaret van Kleff ens (left ) at work for the Dutch Red Cross at
North Row in London during the war. Anefo/HIE. Courtesy of the
Netherlands National Archives, Th e Hague. 53
2.1 Drawing room of the Dutch embassy/residence in Washington,
DC, May 1948. Courtesy of the Netherlands National Archives,
Th e Hague, with permission of the Van Kleff ens family. 55
2.2 Household staff plus Jansen the poodle, ‘minus chauff eur Mac,
and the laundress (Gonzalez)’ on the steps of the Dutch Washington
embassy/residence in 1950. Courtesy of the Netherlands National
Archives, Th e Hague, with permission of the Van Kleff ens family. 66
2.3 Margaret van Kleff ens with her nephew Clive Wilson during
the war, probably 1941. Courtesy of Clive Wilson. 83
2.4 Margaret van Kleff ens with Jansen’s predecessor, the Cairn terrier
Vicky (short for Victory), in the summer of 1943. Courtesy of
Clive Wilson. 84
2.5 Aileen Emilie ‘Dicky’ Wilson, n é e Horstmann. Raymond Wilson.
Courtesy of their grandson Edward Wilson. 88
2.6 Margaret and Eelco van Kleff ens giving the press an image of
domestic idyll by playing a game of Scrabble, 1954. Orlando/Th ree
Lions/Getty Images. 91
3.1 Swedish minister Erik Sj ö borg and the Van Kleff enses eat
‘beschuit met muisjes’ in London, 28 January 1943. Sport & General.
Courtesy of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 119
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