Diplomacy
What Diplomatic Immunity Actually Covers — and What It Doesn't
The Vienna Convention's shield is narrower than the scandals suggest, and the exceptions are where the doctrine earns its keep.
Priscilla Vance · April 18, 2026
Diplomacy: Talks, Treaties and Power
Diplomacy follows negotiation as a process: who is at the table, what mandate they carry, which clauses stall ratification, and which agreements lapse quietly. Coverage includes summits, multilateral bodies, mediation efforts and bilateral talks. Profiles of envoys and mediators explain how settlements are actually reached, or why they are not.
Diplomacy
How Enemies Trade People: The Craft of the Prisoner Swap
The largest East-West exchange since the Cold War happened at an airport in 2024 — built by intelligence channels, neutral intermediaries and lists.
Christopher Lee · March 26, 2026
Diplomacy
Persona Non Grata: The Expulsion That Explains Itself
Declaring a diplomat unwelcome requires no explanation, admits no appeal — and has become the world's favorite calibrated insult.
Christopher Lee · March 4, 2026
Diplomacy
Signed, Sealed, Stalled: How Treaties Actually Become Law
The signing ceremony is the easy part — ratification is where treaties go to be renegotiated by parliaments, courts and voters.
Priscilla Vance · February 9, 2026
Diplomacy
The Quiet Diplomacy of the Protecting Power
When two states break relations, a third country answers the phones, guards the embassy and visits the prisoners — sometimes for decades.
Priscilla Vance · January 17, 2026