Do embassies still matter? Donna Oglesby, a senior official at the United States Information Agency (before it was incorporated into…
Christ and Communism: How Rev. Billy Graham Helped Improve U.S.-North Korean Relations
Reverend Billy Graham visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 1992. The evangelist met with the Supreme Leader…
Kimberley Process: Commercial Diplomacy to Stem the Flow of Blood Diamonds
During the 1990s, several African countries, namely Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia…
Seek and Destroy – The Mine Ban Treaty
Signed in Ottawa, Canada on December 3, 1997, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer…
“The Wild West” — Peshawar and the Afghan Mujahedeen
In the late 1970s, the USSR had been supporting the Afghan government in its fight against rebels, who had made considerable…
The Irrepressible Prudence Bushnell
As a teenage daughter of a Foreign Service Officer who moved his family from country to country every so often,…
The War in Bosnia and the Moral Dilemma of Refugees
The Bosnian War, which began April 5, 1992, was the result of the breakup of Yugoslavia. Pressure began to build…
A Look Back—First Director of the Population, Refugees, and Migrations Bureau
The Biden administration nominated Ambassador Julieta Valls Noyes to serve as assistant secretary of state for the department’s Bureau of…
American Diplomacy at Risk
A strong State Department, based on a strong Foreign Service and a strong Civil Service, is a critical component of…