The ADST team joins many others in the foreign affairs community in condemning recent attacks on our democracy and welcoming…
Operation Sapphire: Nuclear Diplomacy in Kazakhstan
Working with nuclear materials is, by its very nature, volatile. Carrying out diplomacy over nuclear materials is even more so.…
National Elections Under Protest
As the United States watches its 2020 election season drag on longer than most presidential elections, the highly charged partisan…
Nettling the New Guard—PNGed out of Singapore
Singapore’s story of economic success under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew has catapulted the nation to the status of…
The Foreign Service at War (Part 2): Rice, Roads, and Winning Hearts and Minds
“Winning hearts and minds” is at the very core of diplomacy. Sometimes that takes place in an embassy or a…
Backchannels at Home: The Relationship Between Congress and the Foreign Service
In 1979 Congress did something both bold and unusual. That year, President Carter was attempting to build a stronger relationship…
Leveraging a Unique Perspective in Manila Amid Heightened Tensions
Robert H. Stern’s life as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) took him in many different directions all across the globe.…
“The Times They Are a-Changin”—Working in the Context of Social Revolution
While U.S. State Department employees regularly serve in the midst of pivotal international agreements and turmoil, the events going on…
To Aid, or Not to Aid—Breaking the Feudal System in Developing Nations
Fifty billion dollars. That is the most recent figure for U.S. yearly spending on foreign aid. However, even though this…
Counterinsurgency and the Vietnam War
The United States Intelligence Community was, infamously, heavily involved in the Cold War. The tensions between the United States and…