Throughout the Cold War, democratic and communist nations waged a “war of ideas.” The United States, seeking to expose the…
The Overthrow of Haiti’s Aristide
Haiti has long been plagued by coups d’état and regime changes, leading to long-time political instability and weak governance. In…
Kimberley Process: Commercial Diplomacy to Stem the Flow of Blood Diamonds
During the 1990s, several African countries, namely Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia…
An Embassy in Flames: Islamabad, 1979
The November 21, 1979 attack on the American Embassy in Islamabad started as a small group demonstration in front of…
Seek and Destroy – The Mine Ban Treaty
Signed in Ottawa, Canada on December 3, 1997, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer…
The Long, Incomplete Road for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
The movement to limit or even prohibit the testing of nuclear weapons has been around almost since the dawn of…
The Incidental Oriental Secretary and Other Tales of Foreign Service
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy Dick Jackson captures the humor and sheer incongruity of working across cultures in an international…
Kleptocracy and Anti-Communism: When Mobutu Ruled Zaire
Born to a modest family, Joseph-Desiré Mobutu prospered in the Force Publique, the army of the Belgian Congo. Mobutu became…
China’s Fight for Tiny Islands — The Taiwan Straits Crises, 1954-58
Recent disagreements over Beijing’s claim to the South China Seas (in which a tribunal constituted under the UN Convention on the…
Operation Storm — The Battle for Croatia, 1995
After the fall of Yugoslavia in the early 1990’s, the Balkans descended into a bloody ethnic and sectarian conflict. Although…