In the early 1980s, Contra militant groups in Honduras engaged in guerrilla warfare in an attempt to overthrow the Sandinista…
Marquita Maytag: The Shrew of Kathmandu
Nepal is a small mountainous country in South Asia, bordered by India and the Tibetan autonomous region of China, which…
The Long Arm of History — Kurt Waldheim Banned for his Nazi Past
On June 8th, 1986, Kurt Waldheim was elected President of Austria. The former Secretary General of the United Nations and…
No Nukes for New Zealand — Breakdown of the ANZUS Treaty
In the mid 1980’s, U.S. bilateral relations with New Zealand, a long-time ally in a relatively peaceful corner of the…
Terror in the Sky — Hezbollah Seizes TWA Flight 847
The summer of 1985 was a particularly gruesome one for terrorist incidents. One of the more memorable was the hijacking…
Recant and Released — Smoking Gun Shoots Blanks
In 1982, Cold War tensions led to growing concerns about Soviet and Cuban influence in Central America. Following the overthrow…
The 1980 Kwangju Massacre and the Surge in Anti-Americanism in South Korea
In 1980, a democratization movement spread throughout South Korea following the assassination of Park Chung-hee, which ended his 18-year authoritarian…
Ghana’s Populist Mystic, Jerry Rawlings
Like many leaders throughout Africa, Jerry Rawlings was a paradoxical figure. He could be calculating and ruthless, as when he…
The NPT and the Aftermath of India’s Nuclear Test — May 1974
Operation Smiling Buddha was the assigned code name for India’s first nuclear weapons explosion on May 18th, 1974. India declared…
The Mind of the African Strongman
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy The Mind of the African Strongman — Conversations with Dictators, Statesmen, and Father Figures “Hank Cohen’s…