Through serious archival work and careful comparison, Ennas shows how nineteenth-century Ottoman and Sardinian-Italian diplomatic elites embraced similar international legal texts and sociocultural practices while seeking recognition as "civilized" European powers. A compelling and innovative contribution to sociocultural diplomatic history that will bring European and Middle Eastern historians together.

Cyrus Schayegh, Professor, Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland

This is an excellent comparative cultural historical analysis of two understudied Eastern Mediterranean states, the Ottoman and the Italian-Sardinian during the nineteenth century. Ennas very ably employs multiple archives to document how Ottoman and Italian diplomatic corps negotiate their similar positions in relation to the encroaching Western European 'civilization' with its 'international' law.

Fatma Gocek, Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan, USA

Thanks to a vast array of original sources, including contemporary manuals on the conduct of diplomacy, Giorgio Ennas provides an outstanding and innovative contribution to new Ottoman and Italian Risorgimento historiography, a sophisticated analysis of post-Napoleonic Euro-Mediterranean geopolitics, and a thought-provoking scrutiny on the changing meaning of international law, of East and West, and on the content (and flaws) of 19th century imperial Great power politics.

Barbara Curli, Professor of Contemporary History, University of Turin, Italy