The State Department invests significant resources in training its incoming consular officers. They learn through courses taught at the Foreign…
Diplomacy in Cold Blood: Fatal Encounters Around the World
An American citizen abroad accused of murder: this is a particular nightmare for consular officers. These cases can become public…
Chipping Away at Czechoslovak Communism: The Helsinki Final Act and Charter 77
The Solidarity Movement. Perestroika and Glasnost. The fall of the Berlin Wall. All of these movements, policies, or events had…
Teaching the Foreign Service to Speak Foreign Languages
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the primary training institution to prepare American diplomats to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests,…
Play it again, Anne: Casablanca’s First Female Consul General
While America was evolving into a more gender-equal society at the end of the last century, conflicts could arise when…
The Siberian Seven: Escaping Religious Persecution in the U.S.S.R.
From its inception, the Soviet Union became the first state in the world to actively attempt to eliminate religion from society.…
Cannabis and Cabbages: Serving at the Last Stop of the Hippie Trail
In the late sixties – early seventies, the “Hippie Trail” started in Europe, crossed over to Istanbul, ventured into Iran…
“The Wild West” — Peshawar and the Afghan Mujahedeen
In the late 1970s, the USSR had been supporting the Afghan government in its fight against rebels, who had made considerable…
The Sudden Rise of Muammar Qaddafi and a Hostile Libya
On September 1st, 1969, a group of young Libyan military officers overthrew the Libyan royal family and established the Libyan…
Get While the Getting’s Good: Departing Communist China
The decision to close an embassy and order departure of diplomatic personnel is a signal of last resort that bilateral…