Many young people enter the Peace Corps with the idea, if not the outright goal, that they might eventually become…
Resolving the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Issue—Treaty of Bangkok
During the 1990s, there were many international agreements created to limit nuclear weapons and the potential consequential effects of deploying…
The Pursuit of Perfection: Dilemmas in the Foreign Service
Capturing, preserving, and sharing the experiences of America’s diplomats. ADST’s maxim perfectly encapsulates the diverse nature of a Foreign Service…
The Consequences of Serendipity: From Peace Corps to USAID
Is anything ever truly up to chance? Or are these moments of chance instead a culmination of one’s hard work?…
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…
Ethic Tensions Boil Over in Malaysia’s 13 May 1969 Incident
A single election can have many impacts, but one in particular unmasked a deep, controversial issue based on ethnic tensions.…
Pandemic Pandemonium: International Cooperation in the Face of Crisis
Several devastating pandemics have plagued human civilization throughout history. From the Black Death (1350) to the deadly Coronavirus, each outbreak…
To Aid, or Not to Aid—Breaking the Feudal System in Developing Nations
Fifty billion dollars. That is the most recent figure for U.S. yearly spending on foreign aid. However, even though this…
Counterinsurgency and the Vietnam War
The United States Intelligence Community was, infamously, heavily involved in the Cold War. The tensions between the United States and…
Rivalry in the Southeast: Preah Vihear Temple Dispute Between Cambodia and Thailand
Foreign Service Officer Thomas Donohue served in both continental and archipelagic Southeast Asia during a tumultuous period in which countries…