They were doctors, professors, and, in some cases, even peasants. The one thing they all had in common, however, was…
Ending South African Apartheid: Guiding U.S. Policy Towards South Africa with Secret Knowledge
In a one-on-one meeting in 1989, the future president of South Africa, F.W. de Klerk, gave Assistant Secretary of State…
Origins of the Carter Center’s Election Observation Work
The Carter Center was founded in 1982 just after President Jimmy Carter was defeated in the 1980 U.S. presidential elections.…
The U.S. Response to the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia
The Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami of 2004 killed over 275,000 people in 14 different countries. In Aceh, Indonesia alone,…
Promoting International Tennis Diplomacy in Bahrain
In the heat of the Iran-Iraq War, paranoia and uncertainty engulfed the region, with many American allies looking to the…
Latino American Ambassadors
Latino Americans have some of the lowest rates of participation in the federal workforce making it incredibly difficult for them…
Getting Mexico to the NAFTA Negotiating Table
U.S. diplomats who helped lay the groundwork for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) first had to overcome entrenched…
Edward Elson: Entrepreneurial Ambassador to Denmark
The fall of the Soviet Union upset long-established power dynamics, leaving East and Central Europe, in particular, in uncharted waters.…
Warming to the New Administration at the State Department, 1980-1981
Administration transitions, during which power over the federal executive branch is transferred from the sitting president to the president-elect, can…
Grapes of Wrath and Strained Relations with Chile
Grocery stores throughout the United States pulled tons of grapes from their shelves when traces of cyanide were found in two…