Maurice PalZologue: the Diplomat, the Writer, the Man and the Third French Republic

This study is intended as the first biography of Maurice Paléologue, an important figure in the diplomatic history of the Third French Republic. He has never received adequate recognition or biographical attention for his role in the events surrounding the immediate outbreak of World War I and French policy towards Russia and the Balkans in 1920. This book brings to the surface the possibility of a powerful behind-the-scenes influence exerted by Paléologue to initiate and/or execute policy decisions of a controversial nature. It examines documents from the British Foreign Office and the French Foreign Ministry that were used extensively from 1907 to 1917 when Paléologue emerged from the inner depths of the departmental apparatus of the Quai d'Orsay. The material is important in illuminating and analyzing two virtually unknown chapters in Paléologue's career: his Ambassadorship to Bulgaria and his efforts to shape a comprehensive war aims agreement while at St. Petersburg. Extensive use has been made of Paléologue's varied writings, as well. Because Paléologue's thoughts and actions were consistent with one another, an analysis of the writers' ideas yields a fuller understanding of the diplomat's motives. Such a comparison between ideas and their realization is of vital significance in explaining why Paléologue engaged in intrigue, obfuscation, and insubordination in the various diplomatic posts he held. Through this analysis the reader is provided with a cohesive theory and interpretation of Paléologue's life.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Paléologue and the Third Republic, 1859–1907 Chapter 3 Romantic-Mystic-Elitist, 1885–1909 Chapter 4 Bulgaria, 1907–1912 Chapter 5 Political Director and Ambassador to Russia Chapter 6 The Outbreak of World War I Chapter 7 Paléologue at Petrograd 1914–1917 Chapter 8 Encore and Epilogue Chapter 9 The Writer and the Man, 1921–1944 Part 10 List of Abbreviations Part 11 Bibliography Part 12 Index Part 13 About the Author

About the Author :
Irwin Halfond is Professor of History at McKendree College, where he has taught since 1988 while serving, since 1990, as Humanities Division Chair. Prior to that he was Associate Professor of History at Eureka College and Livingstone College where he chaired, at each institution, the Social Science Division. He earned a doctorate from Temple University in Modern European Diplomatic History. His writings include over forty History Encyclopedia articles for Salem Press, several of which were major articles on topics related to the two World Wars. He is the recipient of NEH Seminar and study grants in French and Russian History.

Review :
Irwin Halfond is to be commended for this fascinating look at a man at the centre of such controversy. Halfond renders a valuable service by using Paleologue's literary writings to show a character steeped in idealism and overly confident in his own abilities, and then trying to interpret his diplomatic activity through this lens . . . By exposing Paleologue's unspoken assumptions, Halfond has shed new light on the odd twists of France's diplomacy through this period.