Welcome to Burundi For former United States Ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe, Joseph C. Wilson IV, the…
The Audio-Visual Program in Madras
The U.S. State Department is renowned for its diplomacy and foreign policy. However, it is recognized less for its educational…
Vladimir Putin’s “Icy Cold Glare”
After George W. Bush’s 2006 meeting on the tarmac with Vladimir Putin, he famously declared “I looked the man in…
Environmental Issues: Tackling Air Pollution in Beijing
In addition to implementing U.S. foreign policy and expanding diplomatic relations, the State Department plays another very important role as…
The First Diplomatic Visit in Forty Years to the “Land of the Eternal Blue Sky”—Donald C. Johnson’s 1984 Visit to Mongolia
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…