INNOVER DANS LA RECHERCHE HISTORIQUE SUR LES RELATIONS INTERNATIONALES : L’EXEMPLE DE LA GUERRE DU PACIFIQUE (1879-1884)
INNOVATION IN HISTORICAL RESEARCH ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: THE EXAMPLE OF THE PACIFIC WAR (1879-1884)

Summary/Abstract: This work aims to break new ground in the methodology used to study diplomatic relations and actions. On the one hand, this article evokes an initial desire to move away from a simple history of diplomacy towards a history of international relations, including, among other things, an analysis of the political and financial implications and the struggles for influence between the countries involved. Secondly, it sets out a second methodological aim, which is to study the repercussions of views of the Other in French and European diplomacy in Latin America in the nineteenth century: political and diplomatic actors act according to their perceptions, prejudices, respect, or contempt for the countries in which they intervene. Thirdly, this work shows a desire to use press analysis in the study of international relations: to understand when and how news about this distant war arrives, to see what stereotypes about the belligerents in question are represented in French newspapers, and how French and European diplomatic action is evoked in the press. Finally, this exploration of new methodologies for historical research raises several issues: analyzing the perceptions of historical figures without over-interpreting them or sticking prefabricated thought patterns to them, using digital research tools, and not neglecting the study of diplomacy itself.

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