Winds of Change
Chapter 6 of The Atlanticists: A Story of American Diplomacy
by Ken Weisbrode
Moment of Truth—At the Helm
Chapter 17 of Cotton Fields to Summits: The View from Contested Ground
by George Kennedy
The Voice of America and Public Diplomacy
by Hans N. Tuch Currently there is no institutional functional or operational relationship between the Department of State and the Voice of America, a relationship that served the successful conduct of U.S. public diplomacy for many years—from the early 1950s … Read more
On foreign threats and ‘the calm before the storm’
by William P. Kiehl First published in Lancaster LNP October 22, 2017. At a recent photo op with senior military officers and their wives, President Donald Trump was heard to remark that it was “the calm before the storm.” In … Read more
Why Diplomacy
Why Diplomacy American Academy of Diplomacy by Ronald E. Neumann http://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/2017/jun/why-diplomacy Permission to reprint courtesy of Ms. Kristin McHugh, Executive Director and It’s essential to the successful pursuit of national security, foreign policy and economic goals. Why should Americans pay … Read more
Confusing Signals: The Impact on U.S. Diplomats’ Mission to Effectively Implement U.S. Foreign Policy
by Amb. (ret.) William A. Rugh There is an unwritten code of conduct among American diplomats that says they should never say anything that is untrue or inaccurate. They are not required to say everything they know because they must … Read more
Afghanistan is Not Our Longest War
by David T. Jones There seems to be a new truth that whoever starts a column about Afghanistan, adds the descriptive phrase, “Our longest war.” Or words to that effect. One is not exactly sure why the writers seek to … Read more
The Evolving Terrorism Threat from Nixon to Trump
This article is adapted from a draft of a forthcoming book U.S Counterterrorism efforts, from Nixon to Bush. (CPC Press/Taylor&Francis Group). Ambassador (rtd) Edward Marks and Michael B Kraft are also co-authors of U.S. Counterterrorism: A Guide to Who Does … Read more
Presenting Credentials in Tonga
by Vance and Julia Hall In 1967, after a four year assignment in Seoul, we returned to Washington for a home tour. I was assigned to the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands desk of the Bureau of East Asian … Read more
Let’s Not Get Distracted by “Shiny Objects,” President Trump’s “America First” Foreign Policy is Out of Sync with the Problems of the 21st Century
by Dr. John R. Murnane The 2016 election of President Donald J. Trump has certainly heightened public interest in national politics, sparking debate about American values, social justice, and the role of the United States in world affairs. Arguments have … Read more
Reimagining Great Power Relations: Reimagining the International Environment: Part 1
Reimagining Great Power Relations Reimagining the International Environment: Part 1 by Amb. Chas W. Freeman, Jr., (USFS, Ret.) Senior Fellow, the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University 9 March 2017, Providence, Rhode Island “With appreciation for the … Read more
Warrior Diplomat: Vietnam, 1965-70
Warrior Diplomat: Vietnam, 1965-70 Chapter 3 of Global Adventures on Less-Traveled Roads: A Foreign Service Memoir by James R. Bullington The Vietnam War was a life-changing experience: It set the trajectory of my career toward service in unfamiliar, remote, sometimes … Read more
World War Two Provides the Indo/British Breaking Point
Essay by Jon Dorschner “India at War” (The Subcontinent and the Second World War) by Yasmin Khan, Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2015, ISBN 978-0-19-975349-9, 416 pp., $29.95 (Hardcover). India’s War (World War II and the Making of Modern … Read more
Why the Peace Corps?
by John Coyne On this last day of 2016, I thought I might try and chart the impulses in America that brought about the creation of the Peace Corps–something positive to think about as we wait for 2017–and before all … Read more
Reflecting on Vietnam: A Young Diplomat goes to War
by Allen Keiswetter I knew Vietnam would be my first tour when I joined the US Foreign Service fifty years ago this coming June at age 23. I served there for 18 months (April 1968 to October 1969) as part … Read more
How the Presidential Transition Process Works
And Why This One Will Be Like No Other by Michael W. Cotter The sub-title is not quite accurate, since each administration transfer happens a bit differently. But not this different. At least in living memory there has not been … Read more
Making Peace in Syria: Economic Diplomacy
by Abdallah Al Dardari Aleppo is a landmark in the Syrian conflict and has become the strongest signal of the failure of the western approach to diplomacy and other means of influence to end the conflict. This failure calls for … Read more
From the National Archives: Report on Hazards of the American Foreign Service, 1942
From the National Archives: Report on Hazards of the American Foreign Service, 1942 by David A. Langbart The image of the Foreign Service Officer (FSOs) as a “cookie pusher” who enjoys a cushy existence overseas is persistent. This was certainly … Read more
Reflection on Robert Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis: A Reinterpretation
by Mark White I was gratified to learn that my 2007 article on Robert Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis has been among the most widely read essays published in the American Diplomacy e-journal. I would like to introduce the … Read more
The Ineffectiveness of American Covert Regime Change Operations During the Struggle Against Islamist Terrorism
by Jason Cooley Introduction Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, the United States government embarked on a campaign to weaken the Islamic extremist organizations that were present in the world. Some of the steps that this lone superpower took to … Read more
