40 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AI Use Cases for Consular Affairs: Smarter Passports, Visas, and Border Security Don Kilburg and Virginia Blaser, Chapman & Hall, 2026, $45.99/ paperback, e-book available, 264 pages. In this book, retired FSOs Don Kilburg and Virginia Blaser examine how artificial intelligence can improve consular workflows including visa and passport adjudication, border security, disaster evacuation, identity verification, fraud detection, multilingual access, and crisis alerts. Drawing on decades of combined diplomatic experience, they show diplomats, policymakers, and public servants how AI can expand access, improve consistency, and return valuable time. The book also confronts the ethical risks of AI directly, arguing that AI should strengthen rather than replace human judgment. Don Kilburg was a Foreign Service officer for 21 years, leading State Department efforts to responsibly integrate generative AI into diplomatic work. His assignments included tours in Beijing, Almaty, Mexico City, Santo Domingo, and Washington, D.C. Virginia Blaser spent 34 years in the Foreign Service, including as chargé d’affaires in five countries over five years. AI Use Cases for Diplomats: Applying Artificial Intelligence to Diplomacy Don Kilburg, Chapman & Hall, 2025, $45.99/paperback, e-book available, 314 pages. Retired FSO Don Kilburg explores how artificial intelligence can be practically, responsibly, and ethically integrated into diplomatic work. The book bridges the gap between technical AI concepts and real-world diplomatic practice, offering concrete use cases for policy analysis, negotiation preparation, public diplomacy, crisis response, and internal workflow efficiency. Written specifically for diplomats and foreign policy professionals, the book emphasizes human-centered AI, guardrails, and professional judgment. Kilburg argues that when used wisely, AI can enhance diplomatic effectiveness, strengthen international cooperation, and help diplomats navigate an increasingly complex global environment without replacing the human skills at the heart of diplomacy. Don Kilburg was a Foreign Service officer for 21 years, leading State Department efforts to responsibly integrate generative AI into diplomatic work. His assignments included tours in Beijing, Almaty, Mexico City, Santo Domingo, and Washington, D.C. West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East Mohammed Soliman, Polity Press, 2026, $24.95/paperback, e-book available, 272 pages. In West Asia, author Mohammed Soliman examines Shinzo Abe’s “Confluence of the Two Seas,” which reframed the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions as the Indo-Pacific, and brings that logic back to where it originated: Dara Shikoh’s 17th-century attempt to synthesize Islam and Hinduism as interconnected civilizational traditions. From here Soliman makes the argument that the Middle East is merging with South Asia into a single expansive region stretching from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean—what he calls “West Asia”—and contends that contemporary geopolitics makes no sense through a Middle East lens. Turkey aligning with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia; India joining forces with the UAE, Cyprus, Greece, and Israel; infrastructure projects like the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor or the SaudiJordan-Syria-Turkey initiatives—none of this fits the old framework of the Middle East, according to Soliman, who instead positions these alliances within an Asia-focused American grand strategy. Mohammed Soliman is a Foreign Service family member who has served with his spouse, FSO Colleen Quigley, in Jeddah (2022–2023) and Mexico City (2023–2025). Africa’s Blue Cities: Building Resilience in a Time of Climate Change Donald Sparks, ed., Routledge, 2026, $200.00/hardcover, e-book available, 306 pages. Coastal towns and cities in Africa are on the front lines of the climate crisis, while also having to sustain their national economies. Drawing on rich case studies from
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