This book seeks to launch a new research agenda for the historiography of Dutch foreign relations during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It does so in two important ways. First, it broadens the analytical perspective to include a variety of non-state actors beyond politicians and diplomats. Second, it focuses on the transnational connections that shaped the foreign relations of the Netherlands, emphasizing the effects of (post-) colonialism and internationalism. Furthermore, this essay collection highlights not only the key roles played by Dutch actors on the international scene, but also serves as a point of comparison for the activities of their counterparts in other small states.

Introduction: A Small State on the Global Scene, Ruud van Dijk, Vincent Kuitenbrouwer, Samuël Kruizinga, Rimko van der Maar 1. National interest versus common interest: The Netherlands and the liberalization of Rhine navigation at the Congress of Vienna, 1814-1815, Joep Schenk 2. Algiers burning: The United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the post-Napoleonic European order of peace and security, Erik de Lange 3.Joining the International War Against Anarchism: The Dutch Police and its Push Towards Transnational Cooperation, 1880-1914, Beatrice de Graaf and Wouter Klem 4. 'You act too much as a journalist and too little as a diplomat': Pieter Geyl, The National Bureau for Documentation on the Netherlands and Dutch public diplomacy, 1919-1935, Pelle van Dijk 5. Between the League of Nations and Europe: Multiple Internationalism and Interwar Dutch Civil Society, Anne-Isabelle Richard 6. Rethinking small state security: Dutch alignment in the 1940's compared to Swedish neutrality, Susanna Erlandsson 7. Expropriating American Power: Dutch Clientelism and the East Indies Crises, 1941-1948, David J. Snyder 8. The Guardians: An International History of the Dutch and 'Hague Law', 1944-1949, Boyd van Dijk 9. Attracted and repelled: transnational relations between civil society and the state in the history of the fair trade movement since the 1960s, Peter van Dam 10. Joop den Uyl, the emergence of the European Council and the expanding role of the Prime Minister in Dutch foreign policy, 1973-1977, Jan-Willem Brouwer 11. Taking Stock of a 'Ruslandganger': Ernst H. van Eeghen, De Burght Foundation, and Private Diplomacy in East-West Relations during the 1980s and 1990s, Giles Scott-Smith Conclusions and Outlook: Small States on the Global Scene, Ruud van Dijk, Vincent Kuitenbrouwer, Samuël Kruizinga, Rimko van der Maar