“Diplomacy, if conducted sensibly, is a matter of small gains offset by small losses, an attempt to maintain a state of equilibrium in which catastrophes are either mitigated or, with luck, avoided entirely.” DiplomacySpainInternational RelationsNetherlandsAlbaCounter Reformation Book:Alba: A Biography of Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba, 1507-1582 Source: Alba: A Biography of Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Third Duke of Alba, 1507-1582