Working as a U.S. diplomat overseas requires patience, composure, and the ability to communicate cross-culturally. Oftentimes, diplomats can speak multiple…
Wordsmithing in the Fires of Olympus — Writing Speeches for Henry Kissinger
Words are the tools of diplomacy. When done well, high-flung rhetoric can help define an era, such as John F.…
Nixon vs. Khrushchev — The 1959 Kitchen Debate
It was undoubtedly one of the most unorthodox – and therefore memorable – settings for a major political debate. On…
Through the Open Gate: The Communist Takeover of Nanking
On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong declared the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, starting an era of Communist…
Sound and the Fury — The 1954 Geneva Conference on Vietnam and Korea
In April 1954, amidst growing tensions regarding the situation in the Korean Peninsula and Indochina, the international community convened a…
Taiwan vs. China — Saber-Rattling Over The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
Since 1979, the U.S. has maintained unofficial relations with Taiwan to preserve the U.S.’s recognition of the People’s Republic of…
The Seychelles – Gangsta’s Paradise
A country of white sand beaches and palm trees, the Seychelles is an exotic tourist destination. It also happens to…
Targeted by Germany’s Red Army Faction
An offshoot of the radical Baader-Meinhof Group (named for its founders, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Mahler, and Ulrike Meinhof),…
Resigning Over the Conflict in El Salvador
Central America in the 1980s became a proxy battleground as the United States supported right-wing leaders against leftist socialist guerrillas…
A Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a…