FSJ Special Collections

Who Runs Foreign Policy?

• Publicity in Foreign Affairs
  July 1926
  The intrinsic relationship between State and the media is invaluable in communicating policy and earning support for diplomacy.
• Propagandists in World Affairs
  February 1953
  In a world where competitors masterfully deceive and influence by distorting reality, how can State hold its own?
• A More Open Diplomacy vs. Greater Secrecy
  April 1957
  Diplomacy must manage a balance between openness and secrecy in its conduct, yet diplomatic functions have trended toward more openness.
• Our Tongue-Tied Foreign Service
  June 1957
  State faces a deficit of language expertise and training methods are in need of dire review.
• State and Presidential Leadership
  September 1971
  What can State do to repair trust with an administration that doubts its ability to lead foreign policy formulation?
• The Trade Policy Crisis
  November 1971
  As the U.S. employs protectionist means it hampers fundamental tenets of the global economic order it has strived to integrate.
• Presidents and Bureaucrats
  May 1973
  Former Secretary of State Dean Rusk comments on the often challenging relationship between the White House and State, and how professionalism should ultimately guide the Foreign Service through contentious times.
• The Foreign Service and Presidential Control of Foreign Policy
  March 1980
  The president’s influence on foreign policy is subject to the complexity of managing career professionals and political appointees at the senior-most levels of policymaking.
• Truman’s Secret Thoughts on Ending the Korean War
  November 1980
  Recently declassified documents provide crucial insights into policy deliberations during the Korean War as American leadership contemplated escalation and its tenuous relationship with China.

The Trans-Atlantic Alliance

• Jefferson’s NATO
  July 1954
  Thomas Jefferson had his own challenging experiences in organizing a coalition of states to deal with a common threat.
• The USRO and American Foreign Policy
  February 1955
  The USRO coordinated and navigated the surge in diplomatic activity in the early years of the NATO alliance.
• Europe’s Stride Towards Unity: Accents Need for U. S. to Maintain Liberal Trade Policy
  January 1958
  In the immediate post-war period six European nations sought to closely coordinate their economic activity and break down the barriers between them.
• European Defense: A Return to Brussels
  November 1971
  European nations have often struggled to harmonize economic integration with defense integration.
• The Atlantic Alliance
  June 1981
  New administrations have often taken office with hopes to reinvigorate NATO, but alliance politics guarantee challenges to any reform-minded agenda.
• The European Question
  November 1982
  The fate of Europe has been a central concern of the United States for decades, and the extent to which common interest dictates trans-Atlantic unity is debatable.

Securing Diplomacy

• Embassy Marines
  June 1971
  Marines secure and defend embassies around the clock and have often been the first line of defense against crises.
• Diplomatic Protection: Increasing Security for Embassies & Top Officials May Stimulate Terrorists to Lower Their Sights
  June 1981
  Embassy personnel are frequently the targets of threats and the inherent conspicuousness of diplomatic work invites danger. What can State do to enhance the preparedness and safety of its people?
• Diplomats & Terrorism: A Former Hostage Looks at the Need For Physical Safety and Multilateral Accords
  September 1981
  The chief of mission of the American embassy in Tehran in 1979 reflects on his experience as a hostage and the legacy of the crisis on the principles that safeguard the protection of diplomats.
• Security and Terrorism: Questions, Misgivings Remain
  June 1985
  A Journal survey reveals a startling lack of confidence in the government’s ability to protect its people overseas.
• The 4.2 Billion Man: An Interview with Robert E. Lamb
  December 1985
  The Journal interviews Coordinator for Diplomatic Security Robert E. Lamb as State prepares to establish the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

Offbeat

• The Service’s Only Samurai
  December 1922
  Watari Ebiharah served the American consulate in Kobe, Japan for 39 years, but earlier in life he served a liege lord as a samurai in the waning days of feudal Japan.
• The Diplomatic Costume Revolution
  May 1958
  In 1853 Secretary of State William Marcy issued a circular establishing new guidance for diplomatic dress that proved controversial with foreign courts abroad.
• Automation and the Foreign Service
  March 1971
  Technology will create new efficiencies in diplomatic work but will require a reexamination of personnel policies and customary methods of doing business.
• Life as a Russian Worker
  June 1971
  After leaving the Foreign Service, Richard Sanger left to see what life was like in the 1930s Soviet Union, and whether the workers’ paradise was real.
• Interstellar Negotiation
  December 1972
  Given the sheer likelihood of encountering sentient life amongst the stars in the future, what are the considerations for establishing relations with another intelligent, space-faring species?
• Our Man At Stalin’s Funeral
  May 1978
  Following Josef Stalin’s sudden death, future Ambassador to the Soviet Union Jacob Beam travels to Moscow to express official condolences.