The Vietnam War was one of the most challenging and complex conflicts of the Cold War era. As the conflict…
One for All and All for One: The Conception and Early Development of NATO
During his opening remarks at the Munich Security Conference in February 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared that “[I]n…
A Precursor to the Downfall: Living Through Soviet Perestroika and Glasnost
The international community hoped great changes would come to the Soviet Union after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in March…
Keeping the Skies Open: Defending the Open Skies Treaty
The checkered history between Russia and the United States was arguably the most transformational relationship for world events in the…
The Historic Roots of China-Africa Cooperation
The African continent is often seen as a land of paradoxes. Although it possesses many natural resources and extremely fertile…
The Velvet Divorce: A Peaceful Breakup in Post-Communist Czechoslovakia
Most divorces do not end well, and those between countries tend to be the messiest of all. The dissolution of…
Stephen Thuransky’s 1947 Escape from Hungarian Political Police
Stephen T. Thuransky was arrested for calling the president of Hungary an obscene name. Communist Hungary in 1947 was a…
Presidents, Russians, and Diplomatic Wives: Anecdotes from a Voice of America Newsman
Journalist Euguene F. Karst knew the importance of words. He personally witnessed how communication could highlight the opinions of little…
Frank Carlucci and the Last Days of Patrice Lumumba in the Congo
Long before he was President Reagan’s Secretary of Defense, Frank Carlucci was a young State Department political officer in Kinshasa,…
USAID: Working With State and DOD on Counter Terrorism – and with Oliver North in Honduras
Elizabeth Kvitashvili’s USAID career took her from Afghanistan to Honduras to Russia. She led efforts to provide humanitarian assistance amidst crisis…