Ο Αλέξανδρος Μαυροκορδάτος, ο Βαρόνος William Paget και τα "πρελιμινάρια" της Συνθήκης του Κάρλοβιτς (1697-98)
Part of : Εγνατία ; No.15, 2011, pages 43-56
Issue:
Pages:
43-56
Parallel Title:
Alexandros Mavrocordatos, William Paget and the “preliminaria” of the Treaty of Karlowitz (1697-98)
Section Title:
Ιστορία
Author:
Abstract:
It is known that the negotiations which followed and took place in Adrianople betweenWilliam Paget, the mediating English Ambassador, and Alexandros Mavrocordatos, duringDecember 1697 and January 1698 eventually led to the Treaty ofKarlowitz, a year later. However,the details ofwhat was discussed between the two men have never been presented oranalysed thoroughly. Such an analysis will also, albeit incidentally, throw some light on thecorrelation between the cultural background ofthe negotiators and the developing art ofinternationalarbitration. It will be argued that although the balance of power and the details ofgeography were absolutely clear to both parties they failed to reach an early agreement becausethe negotiating practice, personal strategies and domestic necessities contradicted acommonly accepted legal framework of negotiation. Such obstacles should not necessarily beattributed to an Oriental (or Orientalistic) mentality offutile bargaining; they ought to beanalysed within the context ofreal politics. The Ottoman Empire first had to settle with itsown religious mission and to consider its declining status as a first class world power beforeit could negotiate effectively with the Christian nations. This was an undisputable necessitywhich Europeans with sufficient Oriental experience, like Paget, were ready to acknowledgeand, to a certain extent, respect. Meanwhile, middle-men like Mavrocordatos, earning theirliving on the border line oftwo cultures, could transform the trivial tactics ofbargaining —even the alleged misunderstandings— into surprisingly effective diplomacy.
Subject:
Subject (LC):
Keywords:
Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία
