It was unusual for any Americans during the Cold War to travel in the Soviet Union but Russell Sveda did…
“Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” — The Tumultuous Times of Juan and Evita Peron
July 26, 1952: The people of Argentina are glued to their radios and fall silent as an official broadcast comes…
Microwaving Embassy Moscow — Another Perspective
ADST’s post on Microwaving Embassy Moscow brought back a flood of memories to James Schumaker, who served most of his…
Burma’s 8888 Demonstrations and the Rise of Aung San Suu Kyi
Political activist. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Political prisoner and inspiration to millions of people around the world. Aung San Suu…
A Cold End to the Prague Spring
In 1968, growing opposition to the failing sociopolitical and economic policies of hard-line Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, led by Antonín…
Cyprus — August 1974: “It was a blind shot that got the Ambassador”
On August 19th, 1974, recently appointed Ambassador to Cyprus, Rodger Davies, was shot dead during a Greek Cypriot protest outside…
Cain and Abel: Splitting Up North and South Korea
With the end of World War II in August 1945, there was still no consensus on Korea’s fate among Allied…
Being Gay in the Foreign Service
Public perception of gay rights, including the right to marry and to serve in the military, has undergone a sea…
Did he do it?: Navigating the Alleged Murder of a Kenyan Prostitute
An unfortunate, but not uncommon, part of a consul’s job is to help American citizens who are in distress —…
A Short History of Demarching Orders
A demarche is the term of art for formal instructions sent from a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or the State…