“Winning hearts and minds” is at the very core of diplomacy. Sometimes that takes place in an embassy or a…
Backchannels at Home: The Relationship Between Congress and the Foreign Service
In 1979 Congress did something both bold and unusual. That year, President Carter was attempting to build a stronger relationship…
One for All and All for One: The Conception and Early Development of NATO
During his opening remarks at the Munich Security Conference in February 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared that “[I]n…
A Diplomat’s Wife in Showa Japan
1930s Japan—a time of emperors, tension in the Pacific, and mysterious unspoken social rules of the Showa Era. When Dorothy…
Effects of Poverty on Women’s Rights in 1990s Kenya
For women in the 1990s, Kenya was a difficult place to live. For those who came from wealthier families and…
Life as a Vietnam War POW
In 1966, well into the Vietnam War and three years into Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, Charles Graham Boyd took his…
Some Like it Hot — U.S. Diplomats Negotiate Spicy Foreign Foods
The chemical compound capsaicin is responsible for the spice and heat in spicy dishes. While particular plants, peppers, and vegetables…
The World’s Longest Running Pandemic—Quarantine in Japan
With most of us confined to our homes, jaw-dropping unemployment figures, and over 60,000 deaths worldwide as of April 2020,…
Pandemic Pandemonium: International Cooperation in the Face of Crisis
Several devastating pandemics have plagued human civilization throughout history. From the Black Death (1350) to the deadly Coronavirus, each outbreak…
To Aid, or Not to Aid—Breaking the Feudal System in Developing Nations
Fifty billion dollars. That is the most recent figure for U.S. yearly spending on foreign aid. However, even though this…