FOCUS ON NUCLEAR SECURITY
A key player in the Nuclear Security Summits (2010–2016) explains what diplomats achieved then—and what more needs to be done to keep bad actors from accessing nuclear materials.
BY LAURA HOLGATE
The role of diplomacy in setting the terms for America’s civil nuclear trade with other countries usually gets scant attention. Here’s why it’s important.
BY CHRISTOPHER A. FORD
The story of U.S.-China nuclear engagement illustrates how steady science and technology diplomacy benefit both countries as well as global security.
BY YANLIANG PAN
There are lessons to be learned from the U.S. government’s response to this megadisaster on the territory of a major ally.
BY STEVEN AOKI
An October 2025 social media post by the U.S. president instructed the Department of Defense to begin testing nuclear weapons. But is it really necessary?
BY MARK GOODMAN AND MONTE MALLIN
FEATURES
The work of a political officer requires moral clarity in highly ambiguous situations and an acceptance of mortal risk and the personal costs of exile.
BY WILLIAM ROEBUCK
Since its founding, the Peace Corps has been inextricably linked to the Department of State, and many of its volunteers have gone on to excel at the department.
BY BEN EAST
FS HERITAGE
Many people know about the Red Scare; less well known, perhaps, is a case that helped bring an end to McCarthyism and its democratic backsliding—that of Wolf Ladejinsky.
BY MICHAEL CONLON
RETIREMENT SUPPLEMENT
Students study international relations theory, but they want to know how the diplomatic sausage is actually made, this retired FSO found.
BY MARK C. STORELLA
PERSPECTIVES
Toward Common Goals
BY JOHN “DINK” DINKELMAN
Our Professional Foreign Service Is in Danger
BY RONALD E. NEUMANN
What’s Wrong with the Ben Franklin Fellowship?
BY ERIC RUBIN
Did Wyatt Earp Smuggle a Puppy into Sweden?
BY BEATRICE CAMP
Ben Nevis, Scotland
BY AIDAN GORMAN
DEPARTMENTS
The Erosion of Trust
BY ROHIT NEPAL
By the People
BY AUSTAN MOGHARABI
Retirees Supporting AFSA’s Mission
BY JOHN O’KEEFE
