Category: Commentary

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE UNITED NATIONS by William N. Dale President Wilson traveled the country in the fall to raise support for the Treaty, but isolationist opponents and political foes dogged his steps arguing against his message. The President refused … Read more

by Robert K. Olson

Ambassador Robert Strausz-Hupe, founder and president emeritus of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA, has held five ambassadorial posts, the latest as U.S. ambassador to Turkey (1981-89). He is author of numerous books on international politics, most recently Democracy … Read more

Recalling here a research paper of twenty years ago, Ambassador Underhill departs from his usual wryly amused approach to matters diplomatic to address very seriously a central issue still facing mankind. The reader will note how he presaged some of … Read more

    For faster downloading, Part I of this conference report is divided into the following linked sections: ·  Background & Introduction: Prof. Richard Kohn ·  Roundtable I: Presentation by Prof. Ole Holsti ·  Panelists:  Profs. David Cheshier and Erik … Read more

Comment on Indonesia We present here (in wide page format) two parallel comments on the current state of play between the United States and Indonesia: on the left, one by a foreign affairs scholar, Theodore Friend, and on the right … Read more

by Charles G. Stefan

  Following upon American Diplomacy’s presentation in a previous issue of an account of Rwanda’s decline into chaos by a former U.S. ambassador to that troubled nation, we have the distinct pleasure to present a thoughtful discussion by a noted … Read more

Stuart Kennedy, a retired Foreign Service officer, is director of the Foreign Affairs Oral History Program, based at the Foreign Service Institute outside Washington, D.C. In a previous issue of American Diplomacy (Vol. I, No. 2), Mr. Kennedy, described the … Read more

In Search of Foreign Monsters. . . . Italy’s Meddling Should Remind Us of Our  Own  by J. R. Bullington In the spring and summer of 1997, all of Italy somehow became outraged by the death sentence imposed on Joseph … Read more

“Remembering Vietnam” Ambassador Marks entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1956 and promptly was drafted into the army. Upon return two years later, he embarked on a career that took him to eight posts abroad (including Guinea-Bissau, where he was … Read more

The Army Specialized Training Program: Gateway to the Foreign Service by Curtis F. Jones America’s unreadiness for World War II was systemic. At Bowdoin College, student attitudes mirrored the national pattern. As late as the fall of 1941, a number … Read more

We make available the following commentary, previously presented on the People-Centered Development Forum’s web page, with the permission of the author. Dr. Korten, a specialist in international business and development, received his MBA and PhD degrees at Stanford University after … Read more

We present herewith a paper adapted from a talk delivered by Professor Davis at a seminar of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies held at the National Humanities Center, Research Triangle Park, NC, on September 10, 1997. The author, who … Read more

Dr. Friedman received his Ph.D. in the History of International Relations at Michigan State University. He teaches at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan, and conducts a graduate historiography seminar for Central Michigan University. Portions of this article appeared … Read more

  American “Diplomacy”: Ambassadors, Senators, and the System   Once upon a time, the United States appointed its chief diplomatic representatives abroad — its ministers in the old days and its ambassadors in the twentieth century — from among its … Read more

Jim Roush, retired from the U.S. Agency for International Development, serves as a senior associate with the consulting firm Development Associates of Arlington, Virginia. He participated in the evaluation of two USAID/El Salvador projects designed to further the 1992 Peace … Read more

Remembering VietnamFollowing is the first in a series of personal reminiscences by U.S. Foreign Service personnel who served in Vietnam, primarily during the United States’ heavy involvement in the war. The series, developed by Editorial Advisory Board member Bart Moon, … Read more

American Diplomacy takes pleasure in offering to its readers an article of considerable interpretive importance by the military historian Alex Roland. Prepared for and presented at the Summary Conference on the Study of War held in June 1997 under the … Read more

A century-long era without a major war, as from the Congress of Vienna to the Guns of August, it has not been. We have seen, nonetheless, a blessedly long run of international peace between the major powers in our own … Read more