Managing personal security is an important part of a Foreign Service Officer’s training. Weapons of mass destruction, sexual assault, cyberattacks,…
Building a Country from Scratch—The South Sudanese Transition to Independence (2005-2011)
Creating a country ex nihilo is never an easy feat. How does one construct functional government institutions from scratch in…
Wars that “Must Never be Fought”—Nuclear Disarmament in the Wake of the Cold War
From the words of President Reagan to the fears of people all over the world, unease over world-ending technology being…
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…
The Un-Dithering—Releasing Reliable GPS to the Public
In 2000, the Clinton administration made the decision to release an undisrupted Global Positioning System (GPS) for civilian use. Since…
The Velvet Divorce: A Peaceful Breakup in Post-Communist Czechoslovakia
Most divorces do not end well, and those between countries tend to be the messiest of all. The dissolution of…
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…
Origins of the Carter Center’s Election Observation Work
The Carter Center was founded in 1982 just after President Jimmy Carter was defeated in the 1980 U.S. presidential elections.…
Drowning in a Strawberry Ice Cream Soda: Life as a Diplomat in the Philippines
World powers, including the United States, have long considered the Philippines to be of strategic importance. The entire landmass of…
The Last Ones Left: Inside the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
With a simple “good luck” from President Richard Nixon, Ambassador Joseph Farland set out to Pakistan, unsure of what to…