In the mid 1980’s, U.S. bilateral relations with New Zealand, a long-time ally in a relatively peaceful corner of the…
Recant and Released — Smoking Gun Shoots Blanks
In 1982, Cold War tensions led to growing concerns about Soviet and Cuban influence in Central America. Following the overthrow…
Ghana’s Populist Mystic, Jerry Rawlings
Like many leaders throughout Africa, Jerry Rawlings was a paradoxical figure. He could be calculating and ruthless, as when he…
The Marshall Plan — “The Europeans did the job themselves”
After World War II, Europe was recovering from the devastation of conflict and suffered from high unemployment and food shortages;…
Responding to the Threat of Mass Atrocities
Drawing on his experiences as U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Ambassador Princeton Lyman highlights the decision making trade-offs he…
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…
The Irrepressible Prudence Bushnell
As a teenage daughter of a Foreign Service Officer who moved his family from country to country every so often,…
Poison as a Weapon in Putin’s Russia
Russia’s tumultuous history is replete with backstabbing — sometimes literal — where the powerful would seek their vengeance with a…
Lebanon and the Rise of Hezbollah
For more than 30 years, it has been a political force in Lebanon and beyond, at times praised for its…