Charrier describes how unofficial diplomatic channels can emerge even in deadlocked wars. The focus is on a historical example from World War I: the secret talks between the German journalist Harry Graf Kessler and the French Germanist Émile Haguenin in neutral Switzerland.
There, diplomats, intellectuals, and mediators met outside official structures—especially after the war’s industrial nature of attrition became apparent. The negotiations, however, served less to immediately make peace than to sound out the opposing side’s positions, test political maneuvering room, and keep communication channels open.
A central obstacle, however, remained the question of Alsace-Lorraine. For France, regaining the region was indispensable, while Germany could not accept relinquishing it. The negotiations ultimately failed due to the intensification of the war beginning in 1917. Charrier nevertheless emphasizes the relevance of such negotiations: even if such talks often do not lead to concrete agreements, they are still important because they show that spaces for communication can persist even amid extreme hostilities.