At a time when diplomatic practices and the demands imposed on diplomats are changing quite radically, and many foreign ministries feel they are being left behind, there is a need to understand the various forces that are affecting the profession. Diplomacy remains a salient activity in today's world in which the basic authoritative actor is still the state. At the same time, in some respects the practice of diplomacy is undergoing significant, even radical, changes to the context, tools, actors and domain of the trade. These changes spring from the changing nature of the state, the changing nature of the world order, and the interplay between them. One way of describing this is to say that we are seeing increased interaction between two forms of diplomacy, 'club diplomacy' and 'network diplomacy'. The former is based on a small number of players, a highly hierarchical structure, based largely on written communication and on low transparency; the latter is based on a much larger number of players (particularly of civil society), a flatter structure, a more significant oral component, and greater transparency.

The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy is an authoritative reference tool for those studying and practicing modern diplomacy. It provides an up-to-date compendium of the latest developments in the field. Written by practitioners and scholars, the Handbook describes the elements of constancy and continuity and the changes that are affecting diplomacy. The Handbook goes further and gives insight to where the profession is headed in the future. Co-edited by three distinguished academics and former practitioners, the Handbook provides comprehensive analysis and description of the state of diplomacy in the 21st Century and is an essential resource for diplomats, practitioners and academics.

当外交实践和对外交官的要求正在发生相当大的变化，许多国家的外交部感到他们被抛在后面时，有必要了解影响这一职业的各种力量。在今天的世界上，外交仍然是一项突出的活动，其中基本的权威行为者仍然是国家。同时，在某些方面，外交实践的背景、工具、行为者和行业领域正在发生重大甚至是根本性的变化。这些变化源于国家性质的变化，世界秩序的变化，以及它们之间的相互作用。描述这一点的一种方式是，我们看到两种形式的外交，即 "俱乐部外交 "和 "网络外交 "之间的互动增加。前者的基础是少数参与者，高度的等级结构，主要基于书面交流和低透明度；后者的基础是更多的参与者（尤其是民间社会），更扁平的结构，更重要的口头部分，以及更高的透明度。

牛津现代外交手册》是研究和实践现代外交的权威性参考工具。它为该领域的最新发展提供了一个最新的汇编。手册》由实践者和学者撰写，描述了恒定性和连续性的要素以及影响外交的变化。手册》更进一步，洞察了该行业未来的发展方向。该手册由三位杰出的学者和前从业人员共同编辑，对21世纪的外交状况进行了全面的分析和描述，是外交官、从业人员和学者的重要资源。