This is the story of how a corrupt multinational oil company, a self-centered dictator, lingering ethnic tensions, and lack of…
“The State Department has always been a whipping boy”
Charles “Chip” Bohlen (August 30, 1904 – January 1, 1974) served in the Foreign Service from 1929 to 1969 and…
End of an Era: The August Coup and the Final Days of the Soviet Union
In August 1991, Soviet hardliners attempted to overthrow the progressive Mikhail Gorbachev, Secretary General of the Communist Party, in a…
The Paris Peace Conference — 1946
At the Paris Peace Conference, which lasted from July to October 1946, negotiators from the United States, Soviet Union, United…
A House of Cards – The Collapse of Yugoslavia
Over a bloody three years, hundreds of thousands of former Yugoslav residents were dislocated, imprisoned, raped, tortured, starved, and massacred…
Remembering Pope John Paul II
John Paul II was one of the most charismatic popes in recent history, a rock star who attracted millions during…
James A. Baker III — The Velvet Hammer
James A. Baker served as the Secretary of State during the Presidency of George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1992,…
ADST Oral History Collection
Since 1986, the Foreign Affairs Oral History Program of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) has recorded more…
John S. Service – The Man Who “Lost China,” Part II
John Service, the son of missionaries who grew up in China, was one of the Department’s “China hands,” an expert…
Life at Embassy Tokyo After Pearl Harbor
Despite getting extremely close to agreeing to negotiations to avert hostilities, the U.S. and Japan failed to make peace and…