American Diplomat

Is it simply mutual self-interest or is it Bukele's head start on the authoritarian's handbook?  Both?  AmDip's own Pete Romero breaks it down, with feeling!

Former US Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens answers the question: How was martial law defeated within hours and the would-be dictator impeached?  Hint: The citizens, and the soldiers(!) said no.  Putting up barricades with sofas and chairs, and grabbing a gun from a soldier, one woman asked, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"  Even the president accepted the rules set forth in the constit...

US colleges and universities are a battleground for First Amendment rights. Each side of the political spectrum wants to limit these rights for the other side. Now the Trump Administration has weaponized these issues by cutting grants and detaining students. Is there a neutral path forward? ASU honors student Sami Al-Asady breaks it down for us.

Trump has led a relentless attack on Diversity Equity and Inclusion, saying it undermines a meritocracy. Former State DEI chief Ambassador Gina Abercrombie Winstanley asserts that equity and inclusion are simply effective management tools for molding smart teams. You be the judge.

And why does it matter how regular South Africans feel about US behavior toward their country?  Ambassador Charlie Ray untangles the powerful dynamics within South Africa domestically and vis-a-vis the United States, and helps us understand what this means for our present and future.  Plus:  It's up to us to create our world and it all starts with voting.  Always vote!

What happens when the US washes its hands of its international obligations?  Ambassador Mike Polt, Co-Founder of ASU's Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security Lab, views our president as our chief diplomat and calls the Zelensky-Trump Oval Office meeting a pivotal moment.  We have humiliated the rest of the world, including our friends.  Now what?

A foreign policy grandmaster strategist? Or is our president guided simply by whim and spite, without a cohesive plan? Pete and Laura break it down. You be the judge.

Tony Wayne, former Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs and US Ambassador to Mexico, pulls apart the strands.  First, what is an import?  How many times would you guess a raw material or auto part crosses a Canadian or Mexican border in the process of making and assembling a car?  4?  5? Each crossing carries a 25% tariff.  That's a lot of crossings!  And a whole lot of t...

Diplomat and Author Edward Fishman reveals how globalization is giving way to zero-sum self-interest. Can we win the emerging economic warfare?  Listen, and read his new book Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare .  

Peace in the Middle East starts in Gaza and the West Bank.  But beautiful parks and fountains and casinos…the Riviera of the Middle East, a beautiful vacation spot in what is now rubble?  And somehow the US would own it.  But what about all those Gazans, walking home along a highway, carrying all of their belongings, some with donkeys, on their way back to rubble.  Enter USAID.  In asymmetric warf...

How many "Mar-a-" conquests will there be?  US Ambassador (ret) to Panama John Feeley breaks it all down, with a quick review of the relevant past, and substantive, yet richly candid view of Trump's foray into the Canal Zone today.  Get smart on what is true and what is not true at all.  

The Arctic is a serious US national security issue. NATO, particularly Denmark, agree and have offered significant resources to better secure the area from China and Russia.  Will Trump accept these or hold out for Mar-a-Greenland?  Can we divide the policy rhetoric from the policy outcomes?  Luke Coffey, former adviser to the British defense minister and prior to that a US service member, now a f...

Was Trump's big showdown with President Petro of Colombia a show of might and power, or was there another reality behind the smoke and mirrors?  Pete has a thing or two to say about optics, policy and human lives, from the standpoint of the practice of diplomacy.

Ambassador (and ASU professor) Ed O'Donnell offers a close look at the economic impacts of Trump's foreign policies "Tariff is a beautiful word", "The Chinese are going to take over the Panama Canal!" and "Drill, baby, drill."  What's the reality beneath the bombast, globally and in American households?

Predictive data help make us aware of conflicts and atrocities we can anticipate.  Keith Noble, Director of the Office of Advanced Analytics in State's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, shares his work with State's Academic Centers for Conflict Anticipation and Prevention. How do students, undergraduates and graduates, work with State to inform solid policy?  How can a young, passio...

Welcome to 2025 from AmDip!  Amb. Patrick Theros unpacks Syria for us, from the Halcyon 1970s of mini-skirts and old cars on the streets, to the chaos of the present day.  What was the West's role in Syria's changes, and what should the US do now? 

Ambassador Dick Hoagland, having served many years in Russia and former Soviet republics, has had ample opportunity to consider the high-stakes drinking game of vodka diplomacy. Bottoms up and happy New Year!  

Pete and Laura look back on their favorite episodes of the past year, covering cybercrime, space diplomacy and gangsterism among others.  And what's to come in the new administration?  Borders north and south, changes in the Middle East, and Ukraine.  We expect challenges with adversaries, but more importantly, how will the new administration engage our friends?  

Ambassador Luis Arreaga, Senior Advisor at the Partnership for Central America, brings companies such as Meta, Mastercard, Microsoft, together with the World Bank, NGOs and civil society organizations to address one of the root causes of immigration: lack of economic opportunity.  The result speak for themselves: 90,000 jobs. 

Ambassador Deborah McCarthy unpacks the benefits to the global community, particularly the American public, of the recently concluded UN Convention on Cybercrime.  The mission: to better protect our children from predators and our data from thieves.

Got a leak? Call a plumber. Want security and prosperity for you and the family, call a diplomat. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma and Ambassador Mike Polt (Arizona State University) speak to gearing up the career Foreign Service to meet intensifying global challenges and explain why talent, experience and expertise matter more than ever.  Listen and learn, also, what Little League has to d...

"I feel wonderful!"  Hosay Erfani, who appeared on our show as the Taliban took over ( They Will Cut Our Heads, Of course , And What of Our Friend Toobah ), had a harrowing escape from the deadly regime.  Now in the US for two years, she is an unbelievable young woman, turning adversity into opportunity, opportunity into success.  Here is her tale.  Bravo, Hosay!   And happy Thanksgiving, all.  Ch...

Nadya Bliss, the executive director of ASU's Global Security Initiative, helps us understand disinformation from the ground up.  What is the algorithmification of information and what are the technological incentives for its distribution?  When is AI just fine, when is it a problem, how do we detect it and what should we do?  What is the power of diplomats working together with technologists to ke...

We all recognize the intractability and tragedy of the Arab/Israeli conflict but what are the dynamics of Iran's proxy forces, separately fighting Israel, working together?  What is each of their relationship with Iran?  And what will be the Trump impact?  Ambassadors Jeffrey Feltman and Jake Walles, who spent decades in the Middle East, share stories.

Campaign promises - repatriating the undocumented, Mexico's role in securing the border, tariff quid pro quos and NATO's role in a Russian/Ukraine peace - will require expert diplomacy.  Will the new administration be up to it?  Secretary Tom Shannon, who led State in the first Trump administration, is here to tell us what Trump's early days will look like.