American Ambassadors in a Troubled World: Interviews with Senior Diplomats

by Dayton Mak, Charles Stuart Kennedy

Overview

How do American citizens become ambassadors, and how do they serve as U.S. representatives overseas during such troubled times? What is embassy life really like? How do ambassadors deal with host governments and with officials back in Washington and conduct operations during emergencies and serious crises? Seventy-four senior diplomats give us personal and insider accounts of important experiences. Their comments provide useful insights into the business of diplomacy and will interest students, teachers, practitioners in international affairs, not to mention the general public.

Following a brief historical introduction, the interviewees describe their reasons for becoming ambassadors, the appointment process, their training, the management of an embassy, problems in dealing with heads of state and officials at home. They discuss troubles in Korea and Laos, the Six-Day War in 1967, the Jonestown Affair, hostilities in Cyprus, the Fall of Saigon, civil strife in Nicaragua, along with terrorism, coups, and other demonstrations of violence in the 1970s and 1980s. They point to the future role of ambassadors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313285585
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/21/1992
Series:	Contributions in Political Science , #303
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)
Lexile:	1130L (what's this?)

About the Author

DAYTON MAK and CHARLES STUART KENNEDY, former foreign service officers, are in the Foreign Affairs Oral History Program at Georgetown University. Mr. Kennedy is also the author of The American Consul: A History of the United States Consular Service and, with William D. Morgan, The U.S. Consul at Work, both published by Greenwood Press in 1990.

Table of Contents

Preface
The American Ambassadors: A Historical Perspective
Ambassadorial Backgrounds
Appointment of Ambassadors
Ambassadorial Seminar
Managing an Embassy
Dealing with Heads of State
Dealing with Washington
Troubles in Asia: Korea and Laos
Six Day War-1967
The Jonestown Affair: Guyana 1978
Cyprus
The Fall of Saigon: Spring 1975
Nicaragua: Somoza Out, Sandinistas In
Terrorism, Coups, and Other Violence
Ambassadors and the Future
Appendix A: President's Letter
Appendix B: Interviews
Appendix C: Embassy Organization
Index