Open submissions

Special Issue 2026

Another history of diplomacy in the medieval and modern worlds: literature, ideas and agents (14th-17th centuries)

Topoi. Revista de História will receive original articles in English, Portuguese or Spanish for its special issue Another history of diplomacy in the medieval and modern worlds: literature, ideas and agents (14th-17th centuries), which will be published in the 2026 volume. We also welcome reviews of books that address the subject.

Introduction:

Diplomatic history has experienced a renewed impetus since the 2000s, when it is possible to identify a quantitative and qualitative increase in research. This revitalization came in the wake of the broad revisionism of political history itself, which, since the mid-1980s, has ultimately sought to dismantle the paradigm of the modern state.

By taking on interdisciplinarity as one of the pillars of this process, the boundaries of the political have expanded, while historians’ gaze has focused on alternative analytical categories – such as political culture – in order to understand the phenomenon of power and established authority, as well as its mechanisms of reproduction, transmission and transformation over time. This perspective could not be more evident when we refer to the history of diplomacy, whose method has been refined by incorporating culture, semiotics, philology and anthropology into its field of reflection. As Xavier Gil Pujol points out, one of the most distinctive features of this period was the consideration of politics in the light of its cultural components (2006, p. 398) to illuminate a whole system of codes derived from humanist rhetorical culture. In the same context, the quantitative increase was made by expanding the spaces studied, a natural consequence of the critique of Eurocentrism espoused by the emerging global history and decolonial history. Likewise, research in multiple archives has become commonplace, allowing researchers to trace and unveil the full breadth, complexity and impact of diplomatic networks in the shape of early modern world.

When it comes to studies focused on the late Middle Ages and the Modern Age, this “other diplomatic history” placed emphasis on the practice of politics and the circulation of agents, texts and ideas in the four parts of a world that was increasingly multiplying its direct connections. Aligned with the foundations of cultural history, the focus shifted to the sphere of diplomatic practice and representations, also encompassing strategies of resistance to this same prescriptive-normative force. Thus, the centrality of the figure of the ambassador gave way to a whole range of diplomatic agents, from secretaries, embassy officials, women, soldiers, merchants, ecclesiastics and spies, who acted – directly or indirectly – in the representation and service of sovereignty, be it the king, emperor, sultan or city-state.

On the other hand, the concept of circulation was reframed, considering the specific linguistic context in which it has arisen. Rather than displacement, the idea of circulation has come to include other subcategories, such as production, transmission, translation, mediation and even trafficking. The investigation of theatrical works, paintings, poems, prose and news (printed or disseminated orally) produced for diplomatic purposes expanded and acquired greater depth. Reconstructing the interaction between the diplomatic service and humanist rhetorical culture revealed the performative power of discourse, whether oral or written. Another complementary and remarkable aspect was the so-called “material turn” introduced by the field of written culture. Knowledge of the instances of production, translation and circulation of papers proved promising. The technique of analyzing the type of paper and lettering, for example, could reveal more about the place of publication than the sole name printed on the cover itself.

However, broader research has revealed that the intertwining of diplomacy with literature or theater, for example, was not exclusive to Renaissance Italy or Europe, but was found in (and in some cases extended to) Africa, America and Asia. In conclusion, studies within the scope of the New Diplomatic History will insist on the importance of understanding the relationship between the three dimensions of diplomacy that we have pointed out beyond the normative (so-called traditional) political sphere: textual, ideological and performative. Based on this idea, the Sigillum research group, registered with CNPq and represented on this occasion by Marcella Miranda (UNED) and Adriano Comissoli (UFSM), has dedicated itself to preparing this special issue. The goal is to compile recent research in Brazil and abroad aligned with the methodological approach of the New Diplomatic History and, ultimately, to establish a space for dissemination and up-to-date dialogue on this subject.

Submissions Information:

Articles must be original, unpublished and have between 40,000 and 60,000 characters. Book reviews should have between 10,000 and 18,000 characters with spaces and contemplate only works published in the last two years, (or four years, in case of foreign publications). All manuscripts must follow Topoi guidelines, which can be found in the instructions to authors: https://revistatopoi.org/en/instructions-to-authors/

Submissions must be made via Open Journal Systems. Please check the special issue option: https://revistas.ufrj.br/index.php/topoi/issue/current

Submissions will be accepted until December 20, 2025. Articles will be initially evaluated by the special issue editors, as to their relevance to the theme and the quality of the journal. Upon preliminary acceptance, manuscripts will be evaluated by at least two anonymous external referees, in the double-blind peer review system. Authors will be informed of the decision approximately three months after manuscript submission.

Editors:

If you have additional questions, please contact mmiranda@geo.uned.es, adriano.comissoli@ufsm.br and topoi@revistatopoi.org

Marcella Miranda (UNED, Madrid) and Adriano Comissoli (UFSM), Guest Editors

Silvia Liebel, Editor-in-chief