The 45-year-long Cold War of protracted geopolitical contention between two global powerhouses helped determine the unprecedented magnitude of nuclear weapons…
The Siberian Pipeline
Imagine this: It is 1987, you are the president of the United States of America, your country is one of…
Eye on the World: A Life in International Service
“One of the most respected and versatile diplomats of his generation, four-time ambassador Anthony Quainton provides a detailed and colorful…
A Jack of All Trades: Working Without Foreign Service Nationals in Moscow
Foreign service officers are often subject to circumstances beyond their control. Such was the case when a diplomatic quarrel occurred…
A Public Diplomacy Career: Touring Astronauts, Saving Battleships, and More
Diplomatic history is a fascinating field full of peace conferences, negotiations, and summits; but it also includes dozens of other…
The Iran Hostage Crisis: Diplomatic Drama and Legal Innovation
Next to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, the Iranian seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 and…
Development in South Asia and Latin America: USAID in the ‘90s
There’s never a dull moment in the life of a USAID social anthropologist! The foreign service can indeed present a…
U.S.-Russia Competition in Ukraine in the ‘90s
This moment is one of four in a series about Russia, Ukraine, and U.S. relations in a world of post-Ukrainian…
Commemorating Colin Powell
On October 18, 2021 America lost a remarkable leader and public servant. Colin Powell served as the highest ranking soldier,…
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…