Singapore’s story of economic success under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew has catapulted the nation to the status of…
Living Through History with a Historian—Witnessing Monumental Societal Change in the Soviet Union from the 60s to the 90s
American diplomats and their families abroad become accustomed to living through exciting or harrowing events; but occasionally their lives provide…
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…
The Road to Reunification: Remembering the Reintegration of East and West Germany
The road to German reunification was long, turbulent, and beset with political obstacles. Despite the challenges, German reunification represents a…
The Interest Trap—Diplomacy before the Cyprus Dispute
The majority of society dismisses Classical literature and history as irrelevant to tangible success in a world that has become…
At the Negotiating Table for SALT
U.S.-Soviet relations during the Cold War were marked by increasing tension. Emerging from WWII as the two strongest countries, competition…
“Open Space at the Top of the World”—Defending the Thule Air Force Base in Greenland and Denmark
The purview of an ambassador in a U.S. embassy extends beyond the geographical borders of their host nation and into…
An Expropriation Saga in Peru
For many Latin American states, expropriation has been a hammer in the toolbox of land or labor reform. For the…
Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction: Establishment of the United Nations Special Commission
Following the 1990–1991 Gulf War, the United Nations wanted to prevent any further aggression, and feared that Iraq had developed…