Mongolia—sparsely populated, largely nomadic, and surrounded by nuclear superpowers. The end of the Cold War could not have been the…
Trying to Negotiate with the Iranians
Elizabeth Jones became the U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan in 1995. On July 3, 1988 an Iran Air flight was making…
The Sandinistas Return: Navigating the 2006 Nicaraguan Election
Few events illustrate the challenges of American diplomacy like a foreign election. Diplomats walk a fine line between promoting American…
A Struggle for Power: Decolonization in Africa
After World War II, the idea of imperial colonization became increasingly stigmatized. Decolonization in Africa sometimes resulted in political power…
October 14, 1960—JFK’s Call to Service and Diplomacy
John F. Kennedy inspired generations of Americans toward a life of service starting with a few impromptu lines not many…
From START to Finish: Behind the Scenes of the Tense U.S.-Soviet Nuclear Disarmament in Reykjavík
The 45-year-long Cold War of protracted geopolitical contention between two global powerhouses helped determine the unprecedented magnitude of nuclear weapons…
The Siberian Pipeline
Imagine this: It is 1987, you are the president of the United States of America, your country is one of…
A Tale of Two Embassies—Microphones, Microwaves, and Bugs
In 1972, during the détente period in U.S.–Soviet relations, the United States handed the Soviets the key to its new…
“Like Sixteenth Century Switzerland”—An American in Bhutan
In the 1960s, Bhutan allowed visitors only by royal invitation. The last independent outpost of Tibetan culture after the Chinese…
The Development Process is Never Static: Reorienting and Expanding Family Planning in Yemen
Even when the situation seems most dire, the development process is never static. Bottom-up, local efforts help make the process…