Towards the end of his posting in Honduras, Ambassador Frank Almaguer received multiple requests from other countries’ ambassadors for transportation…
The Question of Puerto Rico: The U.S. Faces International Criticism in the Late 20th Century
As decolonization was embraced on the world stage, the U.S. government and its diplomats had to decide, “How do we…
FLOTUS For a Night—USAID Employee Stands in at First Ladies Conference
When USAID employee Judith Gilmore was asked to play First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), it wasn’t because a…
Construction Equipment in the Middle of the Jordan River—Blacklisting Threats, an Ultimatum, and Diplomatic Activity after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War
As a first-tour USAID loan officer in Amman, Jordan, Anthony Schwarzwalder observed first-hand the economic aftermath of the 1967 Arab-Israeli…
Academic Citations
Scholars around the world use ADST oral histories in books, journal articles, and dissertations. Here is a sampling of works…
In Their Own Voices
In Their Own Voices, previously known as Poor Richard’s Podcasts, takes different moments in diplomatic history and brings them to…
Lessons Learned: USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the 1985 Mexico City Earthquake
USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is perhaps the world’s premier international disaster assistance agency. It was not always…
Human Rights and USAID: Remembering the Turbulent 1990s in Indonesia
Political and economic crises abroad have a dramatic impact not only on American personnel at our embassies, but on locally-employed…
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Never the Twain Shall Meet? Bureaucratic Cultures at USAID and the State Department
The famously contrasting bureaucratic cultures of the State Department and USAID made a sharp impression on Donald Bliss, USAID’s executive…