In this book, Ambassador Martinus L. Johnson, Sr. recounts his experiences growing up in Liberia, obtaining an education in the United States, and ultimately representing his beloved country on four continents. Ambassador Johnson represented the Republic of Liberia for more than 25 years in some of the world's greatest countries as they underwent significant political change: Germany, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, and the former Crown Colony of Hong Kong. During his years as a diplomat, he also served as the First Secretary to the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations in New York. In reflecting on his career, Mr. Johnson expresses awe at the destruction of Germany during World War II and pride in the United States' Marshall Plan in developing Germany following the war. He clarifies the historical relationship between Liberia and the United States and points to an estrangement in that relationship when Liberia established diplomatic relationships with USSR and China. Born in Edina, Liberia, Mr. Johnson is uniquely qualified to chronicle the struggles of his beloved country. His grandfather was a great grandson of Elijah Johnson who was among the early settlers who immigrated to this small West African country under the auspices of the American Colonization Society. Within the context of Liberia's political engagements, Mr. Johnson weaves his personal recollections from childhood of significant political and sociological events. Mr. Johnson also presents readers with his personal thoughts and first-hand accounts of the major political, historical, economic, and social movements that led to the Liberian civil war, the almost complete destruction of the nation, and the major impediments facing the Liberian Nation today in its struggle toward recovery.

In this book, Ambassador Martinus L. Johnson, Sr. recounts his experiences growing up in Liberia, obtaining an education in the United States, and ultimately representing his beloved country on four continents. Ambassador Johnson represented the Republic of Liberia for more than 25 years in some of the world's greatest countries as they underwent significant political change: Germany, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, and the former Crown Colony of Hong Kong. During his years as a diplomat, he also served as the First Secretary to the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations in New York. In reflecting on his career, Mr. Johnson expresses awe at the destruction of Germany during World War II and pride in the United States' Marshall Plan in developing Germany following the war. He clarifies the historical relationship between Liberia and the United States and points to an estrangement in that relationship when Liberia established diplomatic relationships with USSR and China. Born in Edina, Liberia, Mr. Johnson is uniquely qualified to chronicle the struggles of his beloved country. His grandfather was a great grandson of Elijah Johnson who was among the early settlers who immigrated to this small West African country under the auspices of the American Colonization Society. Within the context of Liberia's political engagements, Mr. Johnson weaves his personal recollections from childhood of significant political and sociological events. Mr. Johnson also presents readers with his personal thoughts and first-hand accounts of the major political, historical, economic, and social movements that led to the Liberian civil war, the almost complete destruction of the nation, and the major impediments facing the Liberian Nation today in its struggle toward recovery.

Captivating experiences from my unique childhood jump start the book. Human-interest vignettes punctuate fascinating accounts of developing the Predator drone, conducting the 2003 scud hunt in Iraq, and accompanying Senator Obama to Africa. I painfully describe surviving several terrorist attacks and then recount efforts to birth South Sudan.

For more than a decade, Ron Capps, serving as both a senior military intelligence officer and as a Foreign Service officer for the U.S. Department of State, was witness to war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. From government atrocities in Kosovo, to the brutal cruelties perpetrated in several conflicts in central Africa, the wars in both Aghanistan and Iraq, and culminating in genocide in Darfur, Ron acted as an intelligence collector and reporter but was diplomatically restrained from taking preventative action in these conflicts. The cumulative effect of these experiences, combined with the helplessness of his role as an observer, propelled him into a deep depression and a long bout with PTSD, which nearly caused him to take his own life. Seriously Not All Right is a memoir that provides a unique perspective of a professional military officer and diplomat who suffered (and continues to suffer) from PTSD. His story, and that of his recovery and his newfound role as founder and teacher of the Veterans Writing Project, is an inspiration and a sobering reminder of the cost of all wars, particularly those that appeared in the media and to the general public as merely sidelines in the unfolding drama of world events.

The memoirs of senior UK diplomat Sir Peter Westmacott, former ambassador in Turkey, France and the United States during Barack Obama's presidency. 'A highly readable account of a glittering diplomatic career' Tony Blair 'One of the most brilliant and consequential diplomats of his generation' Andrew Roberts 'A must-read guide to the crucial role for diplomacy in restoring British influence' Philip Stephens Urbane, globe-trotting mandarins; polished hosts of ambassadorial gatherings attended by the well-groomed ranks of the international great and good: such is the well-worn image of the career diplomat. But beyond the canapés of familiar caricature, what does a professional diplomat actually do? What are the activities that fill the working day of Her Majesty's Ambassadors around the world? Peter Westmacott's forty-year career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office straddled the last decade of the Cold War and the age of globalization, included spells in pre-revolutionary Iran and the European Commission in Brussels, and culminated in prestigious ambassadorial postings in Ankara, Paris and Washington in the post-9/11 era. As well as offering an engaging account of life in the upper echelons of the diplomatic and political worlds, and often revealing portraits of global leaders such as Blair, Erdogan, Obama and Biden, They Call It Diplomacy mounts a vigorous defence of the continuing relevance of the diplomat in an age of instant communication, social media and special envoys; and details what its author sees as some of the successes of recent British diplomacy.

The author looks at race relations when he was growing up in Africa and his experiences in the United States. He grew up when his home country was under colonial rule. He later lived for many years in another country, the United States, that was also dominated by whites. He examines similarities between the two white-dominated societies and looks at how life was for non-whites in his home country during those years. It is a work of comparative analysis in terms of race relations and draws heavily on the author's personal experience. He not only addresses the subject from a personal perspective but also in the broader context of society as a whole. A lot of what he has written is based on what he has observed and experienced through the years, amounting to a personal journey through life in colonial Africa and in the United States. He also looks at his life with African Americans including those who were members of an organisation that sponsored African students to study in the United States. He was one of those sponsored by the organisation. His reflections on race relations have been partly shaped by the existence of racism in the United States as a major problem in contemporary times. The malignancy of racism in the United States was underscored by massive protests across the country by people of all races – the largest since the civil rights movement – following the brutal murder of a black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer in May 2020, an execution that sent shock waves round the globe where there were also protests in many countries in support of racial equality in America; protests the author says could have been the beginning of the second civil rights movement. Never before had so many whites in every city and every state participated in such demonstrations alongside blacks demanding racial justice. And never before had such demonstrations been organised and carried on, on sustained basis, throughout the country for several months. The status of black people in the United States with whom he interacted for many years, prospects for racial harmony and reconciliation and the quest for racial justice are some of the subjects he has addressed in the book, drawing on his experiences as someone who has firsthand knowledge of the subject because of what he went through when he was growing up as a colonial subject in Africa and when he lived in the United States as someone who was not spared the agony and the anguish of being a victim of racism. It is an odyssey that is reflected in the lives of many other people, making the book more than just an account of the experiences of the author alone. It is a reflection of other lives as well, especially of those whose collective identity is also shared by the author.

This is the third edition of the Yearbook on the African Union (YBAU). The YBAU is first and foremost an academic project that provides an in-depth evaluation and analysis of the institution, its processes, and its engagements. Despite the increased agency in recent years of the African Union in general, and the AU Commission in particular, little is known – outside expert policy or niche academic circles – about the Union’s activities. This is the gap the Yearbook on the African Union wants to systematically address. It seeks to be a reference point for in-depth research, evidence-based policy-making and decision-making. Contributors are Festus Kofi Aubyn, Mandira Bagwandeen, Habibu Yaya Bappah, Bruce Byiers, Annie Barbara Hazviyemurwi Chikwanha, Dawit Yohannes Wondemagegnehu, Linnea Gelot, Cheryl Hendricks, Jens Herpolsheimer, Aïssatou Kanté, Tim Murithi, Edefe Ojomo, Thomas Tieku, Gino Vlavonou, Tim Zajontz.