ThoughtGallery.org > P&P Live!: Elizabeth Shackelford – The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age – with Elise Labott

P&P Live!: Elizabeth Shackelford – The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age – with Elise Labott

In 2017, Elizabeth Shackelford wrote a pointed resignation letter to her then boss, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. She had watched as the State Department was gutted, and now she urged him to stem the bleeding by showing leadership and commitment to his diplomats and the country. In The Dissent Channel, former diplomat Shackelford shows that this is not a new problem. Her experience in 2013 during the precarious rise and devastating fall of the world’s newest country, South Sudan, exposes a foreign policy driven more by inertia than principles, to suit short-term political needs over long-term strategies. In navigating both American bureaucracy and the fraught history and present of South Sudan, she conveys an urgent message about the devolving state of US foreign policy.

Elizabeth Shackelford was a career diplomat in the U.S. State Department until December 2017, when she resigned in protest of the Trump administration. During her tenure with the Foreign Service, Shackelford served in the U.S. embassies in Warsaw, Poland, South Sudan, Somalia, and Washington, D.C. For her work in South Sudan during the outbreak of civil war, Shackelford received the Barbara Watson Award for Consular Excellence, the State Department’s highest honor for consular work. As an independent consultant, Shackelford focuses on human rights advocacy, conflict mitigation, political affairs, and democratic processes.

Instead of a set ticket price, we ask that you contribute what you can to support Politics and Prose Bookstore and our virtual event series. We know that everyone has been affected in these trying times, and we will continue to make our programming accessible to all. That said, a suggested contribution of $5, $10, whatever you can afford, will go a long way to keep our programming—and our bookstore—afloat as we are forced to adapt to new ways of business. 

The other way you can support us is always by purchasing a book from our website.

We are so grateful to be surrounded by such a loyal and engaged community and we thank you for your support, now and always.











When: Tue., Aug. 25, 2020 at 6:00 pm

In 2017, Elizabeth Shackelford wrote a pointed resignation letter to her then boss, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. She had watched as the State Department was gutted, and now she urged him to stem the bleeding by showing leadership and commitment to his diplomats and the country. In The Dissent Channel, former diplomat Shackelford shows that this is not a new problem. Her experience in 2013 during the precarious rise and devastating fall of the world’s newest country, South Sudan, exposes a foreign policy driven more by inertia than principles, to suit short-term political needs over long-term strategies. In navigating both American bureaucracy and the fraught history and present of South Sudan, she conveys an urgent message about the devolving state of US foreign policy.

Elizabeth Shackelford was a career diplomat in the U.S. State Department until December 2017, when she resigned in protest of the Trump administration. During her tenure with the Foreign Service, Shackelford served in the U.S. embassies in Warsaw, Poland, South Sudan, Somalia, and Washington, D.C. For her work in South Sudan during the outbreak of civil war, Shackelford received the Barbara Watson Award for Consular Excellence, the State Department’s highest honor for consular work. As an independent consultant, Shackelford focuses on human rights advocacy, conflict mitigation, political affairs, and democratic processes.

Instead of a set ticket price, we ask that you contribute what you can to support Politics and Prose Bookstore and our virtual event series. We know that everyone has been affected in these trying times, and we will continue to make our programming accessible to all. That said, a suggested contribution of $5, $10, whatever you can afford, will go a long way to keep our programming—and our bookstore—afloat as we are forced to adapt to new ways of business. 

The other way you can support us is always by purchasing a book from our website.

We are so grateful to be surrounded by such a loyal and engaged community and we thank you for your support, now and always.

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