FOREIGN SERVICE

WORLDPOST
"Never get into an elevator with a Polish blonde" and Other Advice from the Cold War
By ADST, Contributor
American Diplomacy, Warts and All
WORLDPOST
The Story Behind 'The King and I'
By ADST, Contributor
American Diplomacy, Warts and All
The U.S. Foreign Service has attracted some very talented people over the years and many of those are the spouses of Foreign Service Officers. Julia Child is one notable example.
WORLDPOST
7 Steps to Becoming a Foreign Service Officer
By Dorit Sasson, Contributor
Memoirist, story coach, radio show host and creator of Giving ...
There is no educational degree requirement to become a foreign service officer, but there are rigorous steps that you need to take to become one before you can start bidding on positions.
WORLDPOST
U.S. Diplomats' Influence in Washington (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
On this week's episode of Conversations with Nicholas Kralev, we discuss the role career diplomats play in making U.S. foreign policy, and why presidents tend to distrust the Foreign Service.
WORLDPOST
From the Peanut Fields of Alabama to the Foreign Service (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
WORLDPOST
Can Diplomacy Be Taught? (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
Meet the woman who is trying to change the State Department's decades-long aversion to formal training: Ambassador Nancy McEldowney, director of the Foreign Service Institute.
WORLDPOST
Behind the Scenes of Running an Embassy (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
How do you create a playbook for performing basic administrative functions around the world? How do you establish common procedures when every host country has its own rules? Kerry O'Connor, the State Department's innovation catalyst, answers these questions.
WORLDPOST
What Soldiers Can Learn From Diplomats in War Zones (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
The U.S. military is "not very adept" at understanding foreign cultures and has relied on the Foreign Service to provide those skills in war zones says Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
WORLDPOST
Do U.S. Sanctions Help or Hurt Diplomacy? (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
The recent Iranian presidential election showed that U.S. and international sanctions against Iran are working, Ambassador Daniel Fried, the U.S. global sanctions coordinator, says on this week's episode of "Conversations with Nicholas Kralev."
WORLDPOST
Embassy (In)Security -- A Diplomatic SOS
By Amb. Marc Ginsberg, Contributor
Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Morocco; White House Middle East Adviser
Al Zawahri's directive is -- by assessments derived from members of Congress briefed on the threat -- the most ominous and credible threat against U.S. interests in the Middle East since 9/11.
WORLDPOST
Indian Envoy: Ties With Pakistan 'Filled with Promise' (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
Thorny issues like the future of the disputed territory of Kashmir should be "resolved peacefully, not through militancy directed at our people from Pakistan," Rao adds.
WORLDPOST
Is Diplomacy a Real Profession? (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
WORLDPOST
20,000 Want to Be U.S. Diplomats Each Year (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
WORLDPOST
Top US Public Diplomacy Official Seeks to Explain 'Return on Investment' (VIDEO)
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
The State Department needs to "do a better job" of explaining to Americans what it does overseas, as well as the "return on investment" in America's diplomatic activities, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Tara Sonenshine says on this week's episode of "Conversations with Nicholas Kralev."
WORLDPOST
What Makes a Good Secretary of State?
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
If confirmed, about which there is little doubt, John Kerry will be the first white male secretary of state in 16 years. How is he likely to fare?
WORLDPOST
Ambassador Wintour? Is Diplomacy a Profession or a Hobby?
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
Diplomacy today is about much more than just being "the face" of the United States to the host country or about throwing and attending parties. There is no evidence that Anna Wintour would be good at that.
QUEER VOICES
Gay Diplomats' New Hero: Hillary Clinton
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
Clinton's emphasis on defending and promoting gay rights as part of U.S. diplomacy will likely have a lasting place in her legacy.
WORLDPOST
Stay the Course in Diplomacy
By Lt. General Donald L. Kerrick, Contributor
Former Deputy National Security Advisor to the President; 30-y...
We must stay strong and resilient in our convictions as Americans always do, and stand our ground to promote our values and our national interests. That is how we can best honor the memory of those who gave their lives in Benghazi.
WORLDPOST
Powell: There Is a 'Bias' Against Diplomats in Washington
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says many in Washington -- his fellow Republicans in particular -- are biased against diplomats, because of a wrong perception that diplomats are indecisive and want to compromise at all cost.
WORLDPOST
After Benghazi: Diplomacy With a State; War Within
By Wendy Chamberlin, Contributor
President, Middle East Institute, Former U.S. Ambassador to Pa...
Ambassador Chris Stevens's death aroused public debate regarding acceptable safety standards and circumstances for American diplomats and whether we should even be in "those places." The answer from those of us who have served in the Foreign Service: "Yes!" We should be there. We must be there.
WORLDPOST
Why Should We Care About Diplomacy?
By Nicholas Kralev, Contributor
Author and International Affairs Expert
What do those people do every day in hundreds of embassies and consulates, when they do not host visiting dignitaries or participate in high-stakes negotiations? On a human level, how does the Foreign Service lifestyle affect its members and their families?
WORLDPOST
The Kindness of America's Foreign Service Officers
By Themba Mzingwane, Contributor
Handyman living in South Africa
I understand there is a lot of anger in Libya, Egypt, and the Middle East. But whatever is at stake, no grievance justifies an attack on a US Embassy, and American diplomats.
WORLDPOST
America's Increasingly Irrelevant Concierge Abroad
By Peter Van Buren, Contributor
Author of the forthcoming "Hooper's War," "Ghosts of Tom Joad:...
A new report shows that more than one fourth of all State Dep. Foreign Service positions are unfilled or are filled with below-grade employees. State's somnolent response to what should be a crisis call tells the tale. It really doesn't matter, and even State itself knows.
WORLDPOST
U.S. Diplomat Peter Van Buren Speaks About American Public Diplomacy
By John Brown, Contributor
Former diplomat; affiliated with Georgetown University
"Any communications strategy plays second to reality. So as long as deaths from misplaced drone attacks, atrocities by soldiers and videos of Abu Ghraib exist, you are not going to fool anyone regardless of how many tweets you send out."
WORLDPOST
Witnessing Revolutions
By Ann Medlock, Contributor
Founder, Giraffe Heroes Project
With all the news of uprisings, I've been rocketed back in time and space to the Congo, to Vietnam, where I got some first-hand experiences of what it's like when people make such dramatic moves.
WORLDPOST
WikiLeaks Cables on Western Sahara Show Role of Ideology in State Department
By Stephen Zunes, Contributor
Professor of Politics and Chair of Mid-Eastern Studies, Univer...
It would be a mistake to assume the interpretations of events by State Department personnel are accurate reflections of reality. They see the world from inside the prism of a hegemonic power.
PREVIOUS NEXT
Page 1 2