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…
An Expropriation Saga in Peru
For many Latin American states, expropriation has been a hammer in the toolbox of land or labor reform. For the…
A Failure of American Ideology?—The Spread of Communism in South America and the International Sphere
The United States’ war on Communism has crucially shaped much of our foreign policy today. Since the First Red Scare…
Out with the Old, in with the New—Celebrating Georgian Independence
Every American is familiar with the excitement and patriotism that sweeps across the nation on the Fourth of July. Many…
From the Ground Up: USAID in Post-Soviet Russia
Six months after the fall of the Soviet Union, James (Jim) Norris became the USAID mission director in Russia. Not…
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…
Life as a Vietnam War POW
In 1966, well into the Vietnam War and three years into Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, Charles Graham Boyd took his…
Justice and Equality: Stories of Progress and Personal Diplomacy in the State Department
As we renew conversations in the United States about what liberty and justice for all truly looks like, we must…
A Not-So-Quiet Arrival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) must constantly be on alert for security threats, which can sneak up during the most unexpected…