12. U.S. Diplomacy from the Inside – Larry Richter

What does a life in diplomacy actually look like from the inside?

In this episode of Tocqueville Talks, Director Brent Nelson speaks with Larry Richter, a recently retired Senior Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, whose 33-year career took him to 10 countries on four continents, from Armenia to Zimbabwe, and included senior assignments in London, Tokyo, and Afghanistan.

A longtime friend of Brent’s, Richter reflects on the path that led him into the Foreign Service, from early work with Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong to a career in diplomatic management, embassy operations, and global crisis response.

The conversation offers a rare inside look at the often unseen work of the State Department: how embassies function, how diplomatic careers are shaped, and what it means to represent the United States abroad in both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances.

Richter discusses the flexibility and distinctiveness of Foreign Service life, the challenges of raising a family while moving across continents, and the opportunities the career offers for deep immersion in other cultures and societies.

They also explore some of the most difficult moments of Richter’s career, including returning to Rwanda after the genocide to help reopen the U.S. embassy, restore operations, and support surviving local staff after devastating violence.

The episode also examines Richter’s work in Afghanistan, including his experience coordinating with the U.S. military, helping manage the transition from military to State Department leadership, and his reflections on the American withdrawal and its consequences.

They discuss:

• What attracts people to the U.S. Foreign Service
• The different branches of the State Department and diplomatic service
• How embassy management works behind the scenes
• The rewards and challenges of a life spent abroad
• Family life in the Foreign Service
• Reopening the U.S. embassy in Rwanda after the genocide
• The relationship between the State Department and the military
• U.S. policy and state-building efforts in Afghanistan
• Diplomacy, public administration, and embassy leadership
• How bureaucratic reform at the State Department affects foreign policy

Richter also reflects on his work in Washington during the George W. Bush administration, including management reform efforts supported by Condoleezza Rice, and explains why organizational structure, budgeting, and administration matter far more to foreign policy than most Americans realize.

This episode offers an illuminating look at diplomacy not as abstraction, but as service: practical, difficult, global, and deeply human.