As General Secretary of the Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev authorized the release of thousands of Soviet Jews who wanted to leave the…
George Kennan — Containment and the Cold War
George Frost Kennan was, and still remains, a very controversial and legendary figure in American diplomatic history. As a historian,…
What Goes on Behind the Scenes When POTUS Comes to Town
One of the most daunting and stressful tasks a Foreign Service Officer abroad can face is supporting a visit by POTUS,…
Two Shades of Red: the Sino-Soviet Split
After the 1949 defeat of the Chinese Nationalists at the hands of Mao Zedong’s People’s Liberation Army, the newly-proclaimed People’s…
The Fight for Non-Proliferation Begins at Home
The development and potential use of nuclear weapons defined the Cold War era and kept the world under the shadow…
Getting Kosovo Right: Working to Avoid Another Bosnia
Yugoslavia had long been a simmering caldron of ethnic and nationalist tensions. After the death of Yugoslav strongman Josip Broz…
Stop the MADness — Arms Control and Disarmament
The end of World War II ushered in an era of intense arms competition between the Soviet Union and the…
NSFW FSOs, Part II
As in so many other professions, integrity is the hallmark of a good diplomat. In most cases. As Henry Wooton…
A Peace That Couldn’t Last – Negotiating the Paris Accords on Vietnam
Signed on January 27, 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were intended to finally end the Vietnam War, which had cost…
Negotiating the UNFCCC – Moving to the Endgame
In Part III, Robert Reinstein, the United States’ top negotiator at the United Nations, and Stephanie Kinney, one of the State…