Robert Reis, a longtime State Department official, is a perfect example of how far one can come from the American…
Black Trade Union: “Catalyst that Ended Apartheid in South Africa”
U.S. Foreign Service Officer John Dinger arrived in South Africa to serve as a regional trade officer at the time…
Getting a Global Education as a Foreign Service Family
Having a global education is a unique privilege; however, it may become difficult to balance. Foreign Service Officers often take…
One Size Fits None—U.S. Reform Dilemmas in South Africa
One reform to fix them all. What could be more ideal than this? Unfortunately, such a dream will forever lie…
The State Department Under the Red Scare: McCarthy’s Campaign
The inauspicious rise of Joseph McCarthy began in 1950, when the Wisconsin senator was asked to give a speech at…
Nettling the New Guard—PNGed out of Singapore
Singapore’s story of economic success under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew has catapulted the nation to the status of…
Fighting Where the “Wango-Wango Bird Couldn’t Get”—U.S. Diplomats and the Ecuador-Peru Boundary Dispute
In 1895, the United States intervened in a long-standing border dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela, forcing its resolution—and forcing…
The Foreign Service at War (Part 1): A Diplomat on the Frontline in Vietnam
For U.S. Foreign Service Officers during the Vietnam War, an assignment to South Vietnam was unlike any other. For some,…
A Growing Community: The Early Days of EU Enlargement
When people think of the European Union (EU), they think of Brexit. They think of the rise of nationalism and…
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…