Adjusting to a new job position or a new town has its challenges, but moving to another country —on another…
The Iran-Contra Scandal
One of the biggest foreign policy scandals of the last half-century was the Iran-Contra affair, in which the Reagan Administration,…
Tachito Crumbles – The End of Nicaragua’s Somoza Dynasty
From 1936 to 1979, Nicaragua was under the grip of the Somoza family. Coming to power following the death of…
The Northern Ireland Conflict — Peace by Piece
“The Troubles” between Northern Ireland and Ireland date back to 1167 when England first laid roots in Ireland, but in…
Brazil’s Long Detour on the Road to Democracy
Brazil’s path to democracy was far from perfect and often tortuous. In 1961, a “possibly half insane” Janio Quadros was…
Lincoln Gordon
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy Lincoln Gordon: Architect of Cold War Foreign Policy ––University Press of Kentucky, 2015 After World…
Targeted by Germany’s Red Army Faction
An offshoot of the radical Baader-Meinhof Group (named for its founders, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Mahler, and Ulrike Meinhof),…
The Irrepressible Prudence Bushnell
As a teenage daughter of a Foreign Service Officer who moved his family from country to country every so often,…
No Good Deed – Cattle, the French, and Getting PNG’ed from Madagascar
While U.S. diplomatic missions attempt to build relationships with the nations in which they maintain embassies, these relationships don’t always…
Counterinsurgency in Eastern Afghanistan 2004-2008: Development
Chronic instability, beginning before the Soviet invasion, helped destroy Afghanistan’s already underdeveloped economy. After 9/11, the United States dedicated billions of…