After the fall of Yugoslavia in the early 1990’s, the Balkans descended into a bloody ethnic and sectarian conflict. Although…
East Germany Builds the Berlin Wall
The summer of 1961 was fraught with tensions between Moscow and Washington. Berlin, which had been a Cold War flash…
The Neutron Bomb — A Negotiating Dud
The neutron bomb, a low-yield thermonuclear weapon which would be especially lethal to enemy ground troops but would not seriously…
The Marooned Law of the Sea Treaty
The Law of the Sea Treaty (formally known as the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,…
The Panama Riots of 1964: The Beginning of the End for the Canal
When President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty with Panama in 1903, the United States gained sovereignty over the portion…
The U.S. Returns Okinawa to Japan, 1971
In 1945, towards the end of World War II, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps invaded Okinawa with 185,000 troops; a third of the…
It’s Feng Shui or the Highway: Building the Chinese Embassy in Washington with I. M. Pei
Feng shui seeks to promote prosperity, good health, and general well-being by examining how energy, qi, (pronounced “chee”), flows through…
134 Cells, One Inmate: The Closure of Spandau Prison
From November 1945 until October 1946, the International Military Tribunal indicted and prosecuted Nazi leaders for their roles in the…
Hong Kong Returns to China, Part II
As the formal handover of Hong Kong to China approached, many grew concerned about Beijing’s intentions. Tens of thousands of…
Hong Kong Returns to China, Part I
In September 1982, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher went to Beijing to begin a dialogue on the issue of Hong…