American Diplomat

Amb. Randy Berry, growing up on a Colorado ranch, devoted his unique diplomatic career to helping people displaced by war, disease, climate and more. Serving in many countries of Africa and also in Nepal, he worked to restore human health, security and dignity. Much has been lost in recent months, but Randy inspires us to imagine what good we can do. Extra credit: What's in N...

It's 1987. Soviet repression is relaxing with Glasnost and Perestroika. So how did we get where we are today? What was the inflection point? Amb. Lynne Tracy saw it all: the beginning, middle and end of the arc of change in Russia's recent decades. What's been lost, and why does it matter?

Is the pursuit of profit in Venezuela and Africa consistent with the democratic ideals that have marked US diplomacy? This is the question Ambs Pete Romero and Charlie Ray recently asked ASU students in the first fall semester meeting of the Diplomat Lounge. How do we, as diplomats, evaluate competing priorities? The real question is, who are we, as a democracy?

What is this partnership, a return to diplomacy, of a sort? No more blowing up vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific? And who calls himself "the coolest dictator in the world"? Join our great friend Amb. Pete Romero, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who calls it like he sees it.