The Diplomatic Village

Diplomats, like every other professional group, have a “village” instinct. They tend to gather together whenever possible and share common experiences and perceptions. Lawyers and doctors do it, and so do diplomats. Like all my colleagues, Americans and those from other countries, I have often participated in this professional camaraderie at every post. Colombo presented an especially clear-cut example of this phenomenon. Its diplomatic community was large enough to have it fully blossom, while being small enough to avoid being submerged in a larger community like Washington or Paris. The diplomatic system has been around for most of modern history