Today the State Department welcomes about 100 fellows of the “I-VOTE” program to a reception in the diplomatic reception rooms. I-VOTE, which stands for International Visitors Observe the Elections, is a program of State's ECA Bureau. Here's their description: “I-VOTE is an exchange initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' International Visitor Leadership […]
The Council on Foreign Relations recently won an Emmy for its video Crisis Guide on Darfur. I’ve gotten through the first two chapters and I can tell you that it is extremely informative. It highlights both the devastation that the civil war has wrought on the Sudanese and also the efforts of the international community […]
An article published in Foreign Policy magazine this week discusses the Foreign Service's newly reformulated examination process for new hires. First, here's something I didn't know: “In a 2007 survey, American undergraduates rated the State Department the fourth-most desirable employer in the country, just behind the private-sector dream team of Google, Disney, and Apple. (The […]
The Henry L. Stimson Center and the American Academy of Diplomacy have unveiled a new report on how the next President can strengthen American diplomacy. Titled “Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future,” the report finds that: “The State Department, USAID, and related organizations lack the tools to meet today's complex global challenges. It calls for […]
United States Embassy in London, England (Alastair Grant/AP) The State Department announced last week that it will move its Embassy in London from its charming location on Grovesnor Square across the Thames to a more secure location. The International Herald Tribune reports that: “The demand for more space, greater security and better energy efficiency have […]
Two weeks ago the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based think thank, hosted world leaders in town for a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly for separate, public discussions about current issues in world affairs. Those distinguished leaders include: Ali Babacan, Turkey 's Minister of Foreign Affairs; Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, President of Argentina; Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine; […]
Where can you watch Condoleezza Rice talk foreign policy and then play piano, James Glassman discuss public diplomacy, Tom Friedman read from his new book, and King Abdullah II of Jordan related the US-Jordan relationship? The Aspen Institute's video blog. So far I’ve watched the first three of the above mentioned Aspen-sponsored events, and I […]
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs released last week a public opinion poll about Americans’ views on foreign policy issues. The findings show the American public's number one foreign policy worry is the country's standing in the world. The Financial Times reported on the findings: “The… survey found that 83 per cent of respondents thought […]
Since tonight's presidential debate–if it happens at all–will likely stray from its agenda of foreign policy issues, let's see what the vice presidential candidates have been up to in the foreign policy department this week. Reuters reports that Sara Palin visited with a variety of foreign leaders this week. Only brief glimpses of Palin, running […]
On Monday, American Abroad Media, the public radio program distributed through NPR, broadcast an excellent panel on the foreign policy challenges facing the next president. They couldn't have picked a more qualified cast. The discussion featured five former Secretaries of State – Madeleine K. Albright, James A. Baker, III, Warren Christopher, Henry Kissinger, and Colin […]
Last week there was a diplomatic row between the US, Bolivia and Venezuela. Bolivian President, Evo Morales, expelled the US Ambassador to Bolivia, Philip Goldberg, from the country, accusing the Ambassador of “conspiring against democracy.” The expulsion comes at a time of social upheaval in Bolivia. Wealthy people from Bolivia's oil-rich provinces have been protesting against the populist […]
While most of the media's attention was turned to the speeches given at the recent Republican and Democratic national conventions, meanwhile, many of the nation's think tanks and non-profit organizations organized sidebar discussions about critical policy issues facing the country. Two excellent examples of such events were both sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, […]
This week saw new developments in the U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation accord. In case you’re unfamiliar, this deal would allow the US to ship atomic fuel to India, for use in its civil nuclear energy program, in return for international inspections of India's civilian reactors, to make sure they don't use this technology to make nuclear weapons. As […]
When the Democratic party released their party platform two weeks ago I sifted through it to see where and how the word “diplomacy” was used. Now it's the Republican Party's turn. There's good news and bad news with the the GOP report. The good news is that the platform's drafters dedicated a section to both Public […]
Continuing on Moises Naim's theme of fixing double standards in American foreign policy (mentioned in my last post), Brookings Institution press recently published a book called Alliance Curse: How America Lost the Third World. Authored by Hilton L. Root, a professor at George Mason University's School of Public Policy, the book argues that US policy […]