Foreign Service Officers are posted to positions abroad for terms of one, two, or three years depending on locality, demand,…
A Jack of All Trades: Working Without Foreign Service Nationals in Moscow
Foreign service officers are often subject to circumstances beyond their control. Such was the case when a diplomatic quarrel occurred…
Working Together Against Separation—Life As A White Anti-Apartheid Activist in 1960s South Africa
Sometimes, politics involves standing for one’s values, even if it goes against the beliefs of the system in charge and…
George Herrmann’s Excellent Adventures in West Africa, South America, East Asia, and More
Have you ever seen a monkey in an airport? How about the Dalai Lama? Have you visited the world’s first…
Lessons from Haiti: Why Security-Only Interventions Fail
Haiti has been plagued with instability for much of its existence, despite being the second country in the Americas to…
The Iran Hostage Crisis: Diplomatic Drama and Legal Innovation
Next to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, the Iranian seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 and…
Communist Containment in the Middle East: Emergence of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)
The 1950s can be described as a decade filled with some uncertainties, but many prosperities. The Cold War had just…
Making the Most of Adversity: Managing the Consular Section in Guangzhou, China
Adversity can often bring out the best in those who are willing to rise to the challenges it throws at…
Advancing Unity in the Aftermath of War – Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Mid-1990s
Foreign service officers typically must demonstrate adaptability and proactivity to accomplish their missions smoothly and effectively, but sometimes they find…
Senegal’s Locust Plague in the late 1980s
The year is 1986. A Senegalese farmer walks out in his field a short while after the drought season has…