Trump’s Dangerous Narrative
America First really means America Alone. It is a narrative in conflict with the contemporary American identity, harkening back to the isolationists of the 1940s. Before Trump, the predominate American narratives about its place in the world were hegemonic. We,...
Five Reasons Why China’s Cross-Strait Communication Is Losing Ground
View of the Taiwan Strait from Taipei Harbor ©Yukai Wang Since the beginning of 2018, dark clouds have been gathering above the Taiwan Strait. From China opening the controversial M503 flight route (see the route map below) to the U.S. Congress passing Taiwan...
Why U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry could only reinforce its dictatorship
Venezuela is going through the worst period in its history. With hyperinflation and a humanitarian crisis ramping up, people are leaving the country by the thousands. However, all these problems and issues are constantly framed by the Government in ways that shape...
How ISIS seduces European Muslim women–and what Europe can do about it
Why are so many Muslim women in Europe susceptible to ISIS propaganda?
The Many Narrative Failings of Trump’s Jerusalem Decision
By Joshua Axelrod Jerusalem is a city with a long, complicated history that means something different yet equally profound to many groups. With that in mind, it is no wonder that President Donald Trump’s choice to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of...
A Lost Opportunity for Diplomacy?
Mark L. Asquino, U.S. Ambassador (ret). Senior Public Diplomacy Fellow, SMPA (2010-11) The photo from the 2018 Winter Olympics speaks volumes. It shows Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, with glum expressions, sitting in the VIP section in front of Kim Yo-jong,...
Two Tragedies: Benghazi and Niger
By Mark L. Asquino, U.S. Ambassador (ret.) On September 11, 2012, Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, a former colleague of mine, and three other official Americans were killed by terrorists in an attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Their untimely...
Uzbekistan
Ambassador Mark L. Asquino (ret.) Senior Public Diplomacy Fellow, SMPA (2010-11) The Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan is in the news, but unfortunately, not in a positive way. Media coverage of the horrific, vehicular attack in New York City, which took...
“The Eve of Destruction”
Ambassador Mark L. Asquino (ret.), Senior Public Diplomacy Fellow (2010-11), SMPA In his September 19 address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Trump chillingly threatened to “totally destroy North Korea,” a country of twenty-five million...
Senate Committee On Appropriations Slams Proposed Cuts to State/USAID Budgets
By Ambassador Mark L. Asquino (ret.), Senior Public Diplomacy Fellow(2010-11) SMPA In its September 13 lead editorial (“Senators in Search of a Foreign Policy”), The New York Times called attention to a bipartisan report issued a week earlier by the Senate’s...
