What’s Behind the Trump-Bukele Bromance?
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!
info_outline
Democracy Prevails!
American Diplomat
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 constitution. But why? For another one of Amb. Stephens's episodes with us, click . Vive la republique!
info_outline
Universities in the Trump Crosshairs
American Diplomat
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.
info_outline
DEI: Enemy of the People?
American Diplomat
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.
info_outline
South Africans Don't Like to be Bullied
American Diplomat
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!
info_outline
We are Americans and we stand for something.
American Diplomat
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?
info_outline
How is Trump 2.0 Like An Onion?
American Diplomat
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.
info_outline
Tariff Wars
American Diplomat
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 tariffs! And the point? To make our neighbors tougher on smuggling into the US things we don’t want such as fentanyl. But the drug trade runs two...
info_outline
When Economists Wage War
American Diplomat
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 .
info_outline
USAID and the Fate of Gazans
American Diplomat
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 warfare nothing, absolutely nothing, can defeat hearts and minds, and no one can impact those more effectively than USAID, at a minute financial cost. And this is how you...
info_outlineThe 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 fellow at the Hudson Institute, knows his brief! Bonus: Who was Eric the Red?