American Diplomat
American Diplomat goes behind the scenes to hear real stories from diplomats who lived newsworthy events overseas. Experience the Cuban revolution, Central American insurgencies, the end of apartheid and more through the eyes of those who were there. A project of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation in partnership with the American Academy of Diplomacy.
Episodes
The night before the war begain, a calm confidence prevailed in President Zelensky's office. Peter Van Praagh, President of Halifax International Security Forum, recently returned from Ukraine where he spent the first hours of the war. His stories are as powerful as his message that Putin did not unite the West; the Ukrainians did. And this is all of our fight. Here's a way to help Ukraine win: https://halifaxtheforum.org...
Immigration expert Eric Farnsworth is back to parse what he describes as our unilateral disarmament diplomatically in the Western Hemisphere, due to bipartisan failure to compromise. "We're doing it to ourselves," explains Eric. And here comes the Summit of the Americas in LA in June.
Overseas and at home, Foreign Service officers face danger to themselves and their careers, from Benghazi to McCarthyism to the Trump presidency. John Naland and Harry Kopp discuss these risks and why we take them in their book Career Diplomacy: Lfe and Work in the US Foreign Service.
What, exactly, is a sanction? An embargo? How do they help Ukraine and the West defeat Putin's aggression? Are they working? Why not put boots on the ground instead? Elizabeth Shackelford has a lot to say on the matter.
The Ukraine war - a threat or an opportunity, or both? It's too early to tell, says congressional candidate and USAID veteran Dave Harden, but in a rise of great power competition - Russia, China and the US - I would rather be America, says Dave . Tune in and find out why.
Gas and Oil, Russia, Europe, the US, Azerbaijan, China and the war in Ukraine. Rich Kauzlerich, expert on energy diplomacy, explains that sanctions work, but that this is certainly no time for a victory lap.
Most of the world is united in its condemnation of Russia's aggression in Ukraine, with the conspicuous absence of comment from Latin America. Why? Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas, unpacks.
For Michael Peay, one of the first African Americans to serve in the Office of the Legal Adviser, the (incredibly hard) work was "tremendous fun!" When faced with racial prejudice, his wisdom carried him through: "You treat everyone with respect because you have respect for yourself." May we all, of every race, live by this credo.
Russian mothers, mud season, urban warfare. These are among the threats limiting Putin's ability to agress in Ukraine. Bill Courtney, expert on Central Asia, weighs both Putin's and Ukraine's options and risks in the increasingly dicey situation in Ukraine today. What are Putin's fears and what are some of his tools?
Working your way up to an ambasssadorship is such a slog, if you can just buy the honorific instead. Ambassador Dennis Jett, author of a recent article by the same name as this episode, illuminates. Bonus question: Which embassy is the most expensive to buy? See also Jett's newly revised book, American Ambassadors: A guide for Aspiring Diplomats.
Dick Hoagland, Central Asia expert, is back to help us understand recent violence in Kazakhstan. Was the populace upset about rising fuel prices, or was there an internecine power struggle? Or both? What is the US interest in this ambiguous and evolving situation?
Bernie Aronson, who led the US effort to end wars in El Salvador and Colombia, shares insight on resolving the most intense geopolitical conflicts: "You should never forget that they are human beings and they can be moved as human beings."
Are we talking about Chile or the US, or any of a number of other countries worldwide? Deb Derrick recounts recent unrest in Santiago, and we ask ourselves, how similar to this are events in our own country? Today we are forced to remember the events of last year on this day, January 6, 2021. Do we care enough about our democracy to save it?
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