This is the 30th anniversary issue of American Diplomacy, an occasion that invites an effort to step back from short-term events and try to look at longer-term trends. Accordingly, we’ve asked a distinguished group of experts to reflect in our Commentary section on developments in their countries and regions of expertise over the past 30 years, and on how those developments have impacted US diplomacy. We have Bob Pearson on China, Tom Graham on Russia, Robert Cox and Kees Rietveld on Europe, Barbara Leaf on the Middle East, and Charles Ray on the Global South. In addition, Ed Marks and I, in separate articles, have taken longer looks at the international system, Ed from the perspective of efforts to create a rules-based international system, while I have looked at diplomatic efforts to create greater stability after major wars.
In our Eyewitness section, we are carrying a personal appeal to Secretary Rubio to publicly honor the Foreign Service from Ken Quinn, a retired Foreign Service officer whose distinguished career has been marked by both danger and creative dissent. Our Student Corner features a perceptive essay by Andrew Pruden on Europe’s efforts to construct a beneficial relationship with China even as its longstanding ties to the United States are questioned.
The American Foreign Service Association accepted our invitation to participate in this issue. Its contribution captures the key issues the profession has dealt with over the past three decades, culminating in the current attacks on the fundamental principles of the profession.