INSIDE THE WORLD OF MODERN DIPLOMACY
By CHAS W. FREEMAN
How Foreign Service Spouses Carve Out a Professional Path
Although the State Department has made progress in improving job opportunities for family members, many are still unemployed or underemployed.
By LARA CENTER
More Americans Seem to Appreciate Diplomacy. Is That Enough?
Despite progress in public outreach, the State Department still needs a realistic and coherent long-term strategy.
By ROBIN HOLZHAUER
For a Diplomat’s Child, Global Upbringing Can Mean Lost Identity
The lessons I learned can help those who feel adrift, even if they have lived in the same country all their lives.
By MEGAN NORTON
Want to Be a Diplomat? You Must Make It Past an A.I. ‘Gateway’
Software now scores Foreign Service candidates’ essays and résumés.
By CHARLIE KEOHAN
and NICHOLAS KRALEV
Deputy Chief of Mission: The Toughest Job in an Embassy
The main challenge is managing an interagency team that is uniquely disparate, in an environment vastly different from a typical workplace.
By SAL CERRELL
Why Exchange Programs Can ‘Make Dreams Come True’
The majority of participants are promising young leaders — ordinary people who go on to make a difference in their communities.
By LIA MILLER
Split Loyalties: The Non-Americans in U.S. Diplomatic Missions
About 50,000 local staff around the world keep embassies and consulates running. I was one of them.
By CASEY BOHN
How to Communicate Official Policy to a Globalized World
We have the latest technical messaging tools, but we still speak to foreign audiences as we do to our own citizens. That must change.
By SAMUEL WERBERG
Forging Diplomatic Connections Through Storytelling
Having fled Nazi Germany, my grandmother implored me to get involved in public service.
By LAUREN PROTENTIS
Decree to Disband French Foreign Service Is an Attack on Diplomacy
Like many politicians, President Emmanuel Macron doesn’t understand that diplomacy is a profession.
By NICHOLAS KRALEV
Can Russia Be Removed from the U.N. Security Council?
Created to maintain global peace and stability, the council is powerless as one of its permanent members wages a brutal unprovoked war in Ukraine.
By ROBERT DOWNES
How Madeleine Albright Helped Jumpstart My Career
I never thanked her properly, figuring she had inspired many others to do greater things and wouldn’t be too impressed.
By NICHOLAS KRALEV
Third-Culture Kids Make Ideal Global Citizens
They often refer to themselves as “cultural chameleons,” because they can adapt to any environment but feel as if they belong nowhere.
By STEPHANIE SEXTON
History Shock: Too Many Diplomats Are Ignorant of the Past
The lack of understanding of other countries’ histories — and the U.S. role in them — impedes diplomacy.
By JOHN DICKSON
A Visa Doesn’t Guarantee Entry, Just a ‘Knock on the Door’
Tennis star Novak Djokovic’s canceled Australian visa is a reminder of common misperceptions about consular services.
By NICHOLAS KRALEV
Diplomats Remember Unique Christmas Experiences Abroad
One was caught up in Romania’s 1989 revolution. Another showed support for political prisoners in Cuba.
By ROBIN HOLZHAUER
Are Ambassadors Rarely Useful Relics? Discuss!
Politicians’ recent actions raise anew a question that has been asked after almost every major technological invention in history.
By DENNIS JETT
Applying Bruce Mau’s Life-Centered Design to Diplomacy
Dealing with problems “in the complexity of the ecosystem that creates them is probably the hardest thing to do,” says the Canadian designer.
By ROBIN HOLZHAUER
Why Are Soldiers Treated Better Than Diplomats?
People are the most important resource in government. In treating its own, the State Department can learn from the military.
By CHARLES RAY
Abroad for the Holidays, Diplomats Create Another Kind of Family
We invite guests to our homes for Thanksgiving to showcase American history, traditions and culture.
By ROBERT DOWNES