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November 2022

Summit meeting between Mikhail Gorbachev and George H.W. Bush, July 1991.
A month after this July 1991 summit meeting between Mikhail Gorbachev and George H.W. Bush, the Soviet leader was sidelined in a coup.

Commentary

Gorbachev: Hubris and Humanism by Raymond Smith

Ukrainians to Putin’s Empire: Hell No! by Dick Virden

Fighting Corruption in the Arab World Should Be a U.S. Priority by Imad K. Harb

U.S.-China Agricultural Dialogue in Des Moines Shows Potential for Improving Relations During a Critical Period by Kenneth Quinn

U.S. Relations with China: DACOR Conference Summary by Keith McCormick and Emma Sandifer

Eyewitness

Remembering Mikhail Gorbachev and the 1991 Coup by Renee Earle

Retail Politics in Trinidad and Tobago by Jonathan Rickert

Language and Cultural Immersion Build Effective Communication by Bruce K. Byers

From Our Archives

A New Cold War: Personal Reflections Regarding Russia’s Missed Opportunities with NATO, Ukraine and Its Western Neighbors | by Keith C. Smith. February 2019 commentary from American Diplomacy Journal

Containment, Again: A Long-Term Perspective on Recent Russian Claims | by Joe Renouard. April 2015 commentary from American Diplomacy Journal

ADST Moments in Diplomatic History

In August 1991, hardline members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union staged a coup. Interview with Ambassador Robert Strauss.

The 1991 Coup Against Mikhail Gorbachev

 

Although unsuccessful, the coup signaled an end to both Gorbachev’s supremacy and to the Soviet Union.  Interview with William Green Miller.

End of an Era: The August Coup and the Final Days of the Soviet Union

Links

U.S. National Security Strategy
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Biden-Harris-Administrations-National-Security-Strategy-10.2022.pdf

Blueprints for a More Modern Diplomatic Service
https://ldns.asu.edu/sites/default/files/events/2022-09/American%20Diplomacy%20Project%20-%20Final%20Report_0.pdf

In Memoriam

Donald Blinken was Ambassador to Hungary, financier, patron of the arts, head of the Mark Rothko Foundation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/us/donald-blinken-dead.html

Marilyn Priscilla Johnson was a WWII Japanese code breaker, senior officer with the U.S. Information Agency, and Ambassador to Togo.
https://www.caledonianrecord.com/community/deaths/marilyn-priscilla-johnson-obituary/article_b0d06d4f-1ba3-5dce-902a-921e9a434578.html

David Hitchcock’s 35 year career with the U.S. Information Agency included public affairs assignments in Vietnam, Japan, Israel, and Washington.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/david-hitchcock-obituary

Ann Delavan Harrop is celebrated for her many areas of engagement as “a quintessential Foreign Service spouse, mother, and partner”.
https://afsa.org/inspiring-foreign-service-life-ann-delavan-harrop-1928-2022