The twentieth century continues to captivate the attention of policy professionals, academics, and the general public. This is due to…
Negotiating the Helsinki Final Act—Soviet Style
Following Allied victory in World War II, the world plunged headfirst into a bitter rivalry lasting decades between the two…
Dinner with Imelda: Encounters with the Philippines’ Most Famous Dictatorship
In the wake of the Cold War, dictatorial regimes sprang up throughout the world, capturing international attention with news of…
Diplomatic View of Vice President Joe Biden on Kosovo and Israel
When Vice President Biden sat next to then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping at a dinner in 2012, Xi asked…
A Fragile Peace: The Aftermath of the Sri Lankan Civil War
One of the greatest challenges in a diplomat’s career is serving in a country that is trying to rebuild after…
The State Department Under the Red Scare: McCarthy’s Campaign
The inauspicious rise of Joseph McCarthy began in 1950, when the Wisconsin senator was asked to give a speech at…
Fighting Where the “Wango-Wango Bird Couldn’t Get”—U.S. Diplomats and the Ecuador-Peru Boundary Dispute
In 1895, the United States intervened in a long-standing border dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela, forcing its resolution—and forcing…
A Growing Community: The Early Days of EU Enlargement
When people think of the European Union (EU), they think of Brexit. They think of the rise of nationalism and…
Chad’s Presidential Elections in 2016—“My Husband has Disappeared”
During the 2016 presidential elections in Chad, a number of Chadian military personnel went missing. Chad’s current president, Idriss Déby,…
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…