A sense of misunderstanding is what undoubtedly lies at the heart of conflict, especially between nations who apparently strive for…
Tex Harris: Representing at Home the Officers who Serve Abroad
A lack of due process, serious disorganization, and inadequate representation. This was the state of affairs of Foreign Service labor…
National Elections Under Protest
As the United States watches its 2020 election season drag on longer than most presidential elections, the highly charged partisan…
The Foreign Service at War (Part 2): Rice, Roads, and Winning Hearts and Minds
“Winning hearts and minds” is at the very core of diplomacy. Sometimes that takes place in an embassy or a…
CORDS: A New Pacification Program for Vietnam
The Vietnam War was one of the most challenging and complex conflicts of the Cold War era. As the conflict…
Surviving the Storm—Turkey’s Labor Movements Under a Junta
In the late 1970s, Turkey faced intense political fragmentation as its parties each struggled for a majority; due to lack…
Egypt Before the Arab Spring: Shifting Tides of Democracy and Westernization
The Arab Spring began in late 2010 as a series of anti-government protests throughout several Middle Eastern countries that permanently…
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…
From Les Misérables to Good Americans: One Ambassador’s Fight to Secure Refugee Status for Romanian Dissidents
They were doctors, professors, and, in some cases, even peasants. The one thing they all had in common, however, was…
Out with the Old, in with the New—Celebrating Georgian Independence
Every American is familiar with the excitement and patriotism that sweeps across the nation on the Fourth of July. Many…