Jesse Alexander Helms, a five-term Republican Senator (1973- 2003) from North Carolina, was known not only for his conservative beliefs…
The Extra Special Relationship: Thatcher, Reagan, and the 1980s
The “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom has served to unite the two nations over the…
Modern Turkey’s History of Military Coups
The July 2016 attempted coup d’état in Turkey was the latest in a series of military interventions in the nation’s…
What Have I Gotten Myself Into? Tales from Rough First Tours
Life in the Foreign Service certainly has its advantages – working in often exotic locales, meeting fascinating people, being a…
Cleaning up America’s Backyard: The Overthrow of Guatemala’s Arbenz
The Central Intelligence Agency launched a covert operation on June 18, 1954 to overthrow the left-leaning government in Guatemala. The…
Politics, Pinatubo and the Pentagon: The Closure of Subic Bay
The closure of Naval Base Subic Bay, the U.S. Navy’s massive ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility in the…
The Battle to Create the Foreign Service Institute
The art of diplomatic relations and negotiations is as old as civilization itself. However, the State Department did not have…
A Few Words from Benjamin Franklin
Born in Boston in 1706, Benjamin Franklin helped to draft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and he…
Laying It Between the Lines: Music Diplomacy in Shanghai
“But if I really say it/ the radio won’t play it/ unless I lay it between the lines.” This song…
African-American Ambassadors
(As of April 2016) A Adams, Samuel Clifford Jr. Aggrey, Rudolph Alexander, Leslie M. (pictured with Bill Richardson) B Barnes,…