Following the Allied victory in World War II and a period of U.S. occupation, the United States and Japan put…
A Precursor to the Downfall: Living Through Soviet Perestroika and Glasnost
The international community hoped great changes would come to the Soviet Union after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in March…
Diplomacy and Danger—Close Calls in Uganda
In 1971, a Ugandan coup d’état led by General Idi Amin ousted President Milton Obote’s government. After Amin seized power,…
Only the Good Die Young—Attending Bobby Kennedy’s Funeral
Nineteen sixty-eight was one of the most chaotic years in American history. As the unpopular Vietnam War raged on, protests…
Do You Hear the People Sing?—Democratic Promotion in Haiti, Mozambique, and Iraq
E Pluribus Unum. The average American will unwittingly encounter these very words on a daily basis and hardly give them…
Fiscal Relief in a Tumultuous Time—The Paris Club in the Nineties
At the end of World War II, Argentina was entrenched in debt and on the verge of defaulting to its…
An Embassy in Brazzaville During the Time of Independence
Prior to mid-August 1960, the United States had limited diplomatic activity in the French African colonies. However, within a 48-hour…
Setting the Record Straight: Accountability in Reporting on the Guatemalan Economy
For policymakers to make the right decisions, it is crucial that they first have the right information. With this in…
Fighting the War on Drugs with Bus Stops and Law Books: USAID in Bolivia
As the Cold War died down, U.S. assistance to Latin America shifted focus to a new war: the war on…
Building a Country from Scratch—The South Sudanese Transition to Independence (2005-2011)
Creating a country ex nihilo is never an easy feat. How does one construct functional government institutions from scratch in…