Diplomacy in Crisis

The Cost to America and the World

Statement by the Board of American Diplomacy

In the span of a few weeks, the United States has experienced unprecedented shifts in its foreign policy on topics long considered broadly bipartisan and uncontentious. The United States has broken with its European allies over support for Ukraine, a democratic country invaded by Russia. Free trade with neighboring Canada and Mexico, our two top trading partners, is gone. The U.S. Agency for International Development — set up over 60 years ago to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance and help people recover from humanitarian crises — is also gone, with lethal consequences. Public service, long saluted, is denigrated, and the U.S. Department of State is preparing for dramatic staffing cuts. READ MORE

The American Diplomacy journal has focused its mission on presenting the voices of practitioners:  commentaries and stories from people who “have been there.”  With this section of the journal, we aim to do the same. What is at stake in the current diplomacy crisis can best be explained by those same voices, which we proudly share here with our readers.
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February 2025

The Editor’s Page

Commentary

Unsolicited Thoughts on How the New Administration Can Improve American Diplomacy by Raymond F. Smith
Biden’s Troubled Foreign Policy Legacy by P. Michael McKinley
Communicating with the People or with the Leadership Elite? A Diplomatic Juggling Act by Charles Ray
India: Strategic Partner or Global Challenger? Keith McCormick and Audrey Straw
How to Fix the Peace Corps by Thomas Brodey

Eyewitness

Bohlen’s Dictum: First, Be There by Thomas E. McNamara
A Subdued “Last Hurrah” for the (former) Soviet Union in Romania by Jonathan Rickert

Select Eyewitness Stories by Theme

The Student Corner

Reframing Partnerships with America in the Wake of Trump’s Re-election by Christian Miller

Moments in Diplomacy

Winston Lord describes the extended, secret negotiations that eventually led to the 1973 Paris Accords, the agreement intended to end the war in Vietnam for which Henry Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize. None of the parties fully lived up to their commitments and the war finally ended with the North’s military conquest of the South.

Links

Charles Kupchan traces the history of American exceptionalism through three phases: the isolationism that dominated US policy until the 1940s; the Pax Americana that morphed into imperial overreach in the current century; and the current need, demonstrated by the appeal of President Trump’s brand of isolationism, for a new formulation of the concept.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/clash-exceptionalisms

The current (January-February 2025) issue of the Foreign Service Journal focuses on the timely issue of presidential transitions, sharing the experiences and perspectives of foreign affairs professionals who have observed and participated in them.
https://afsa.org/foreign-service-journal

From Our Archives

Among President Carter’s many charitable and humanitarian activities after he left the presidency, his foundation played a key role in the virtual eradication of the guinea worm parasite in Africa.
https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2023/05/the-guinea-worm-president-carter-and-me/

Three articles from our archives, despite the significant recent changes on the ground in the Middle East, offer still relevant insights for possible Western foreign policy going forward toward Syria, Lebanon, and Iran.
Abdallah Al Dardari proposes steps for the remaking of Syria.
https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2017/01/making-peace-in-syria-economic-diplomacy/

Imad K. Harb’s analyzes the stakes in Western interaction with Lebanon.
https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2021/05/why-the-u-s-should-help-prevent-lebanons-collapse/

Alon Ben-Meir examines the dangers of pursuing mutually destructive policies vis-à-vis Iran.
https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2019/05/preventing-an-israeil-iran-war/