Commentary
Representation is Work by Charles Ray
China in Africa: The Nuanced Reality of Belt and Road by Hank Cohen
Migrant Labor and Economic Assistance by Mark Wentling
The International Dynamics of Venezuela’s Presidential Election by Luigi Einaudi
Eyewitness
When I Was a Vice Consul in Nuevo Laredo by Edward Marks
A Moment of Cold War Intrigue by Judith Heimann
The Donhauser Award by Jonathan Rickert
PanAm 107 and Embassy Moscow: A Country Team Decision by Raymond F. Smith
Moments in Diplomacy
How the US embassy in Lisbon operated during the period of turmoil that led to the establishment of democracy in Portugal.
https://adst.org/2023/10/the-catalyst-for-democracy-portugals-carnation-revolution/
Links
The October issue of the Foreign Service Journal focuses on “Foreign Assistance Today.” It includes an analysis of US assistance failures in Afghanistan and a call for shifting the focus of assistance programs from a progress mentality to a learning paradigm.
https://afsa.org/foreign-assistance-lessons-afghanistan-how-balance-accountability-and-learning
Two American diplomats call for reforms in both structure and outlook to create a diplomacy that is less militaristic, more realistic, and more cognizant of how other countries see the world.
https://www.newsweek.com/its-time-fix-foreign-service-give-diplomacy-chance-opinion-1934814
From Our Archives
Former embassy Moscow press attaché Richard Gilbert has also written about the embassy’s handling of information it received in December 1988 of a possible terrorist attack on a US aircraft. His article includes a copy of the embassy’s public notice on the subject and discusses press reaction and the longer-term policy decision that resulted. You can find it at:
Pan Am 103 and the Birth of “No Double Standard” by Richard Gilbert
The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP29, will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11 to 22, 2024. COP 28 had recognized that action needed to be accelerated across all areas and the recent UN Environmental Program report warned again that countries are lagging behind their target commitments. To set the stage for the upcoming meeting, we have selected two articles from our archives.
Stepping Up Our Climate Diplomacy by Ambassador Charles Ray, February 2023
How Climate Diplomacy is a Pillar of Efforts to Address Climate Change by Ambassador Robert Blake, May 2023
Books of Interest
November 2024
The Divine Economy by Paul Seabright
Breaking the Mold by Raghuram G. Rajan and Rohit Lamba
The Great Transformation by Odd Arne Westad and Chen Jian
The Russian Way of Deterrence by Dimitry (Dima) Adamsky
Punishing Putin by Stephanie E. Baker
Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista