How Countries Use Food to Win Friends and Influence People

The spa­cious ground-floor space in the for­mer res­i­dence of the Span­ish ambas­sador in Wash­ing­ton, D.C., was packed with peo­ple. All around the walls, large, col­or­ful, artis­tic pic­tures of Span­ish ingre­di­ents and spe­cial­ties revealed what the event was all about: Span­ish food. The audi­ence was com­posed of pro­fes­sion­als and enthu­si­asts who had come to hear a…

U.S. Embassies in Africa Are Chronically Short-Staffed

U.S. embassies across Africa are fac­ing chron­ic staffing short­ages that are under­cut­ting U.S. for­eign-pol­i­­cy goals on the con­ti­nent and sap­ping the morale of the diplo­mat­ic corps, accord­ing to inter­views with mul­ti­ple U.S. offi­cials and region­al experts. The prob­lem has caught the atten­tion of top U.S. law­mak­ers, who have raised alarm bells about the long-term impact…