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The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age Audiobook
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Publisher Description
A young diplomat's account of her assignment in South Sudan, a firsthand example of US foreign policy that has failed in its diplomacy and accountability around the world.
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. If he couldn't do that, she said, "I humbly recommend that you follow me out the door."
With that, she sat down to write her story and share an urgent message.
In The Dissent Channel, former diplomat Elizabeth 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.
Through her story, Shackelford makes policy and politics come alive. And 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.
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"At a time when many Americans are wondering if avalues-based foreign policy is either desirable or feasible, ElizabethShackelford offers a passionate and detailed account of the risks of not havingone, under the challenging circumstances faced by the Obama Administration inSouth Sudan. In presenting one side of a complex story, Elizabeth reveals whyit is imperative now more than ever that dissenting voices, particularly fromthose closest to the ground, be heard and answered"
— Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America
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“The Dissent Channel represents an important read for those seeking to reckon with the longer-term shortcomings of American foreign policy, particularly as they concern South Sudan.”
— Global Policy Journal -
“An honest accounting by a patriot seeking a deliberate national discourse on what actually makes America great.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“This beautifully written, personal story exposes uncomfortable truths about the costs of America’s foreign policy approach and, without cynicism, offers some hope for a better way forward.”
— Yara Bayoumy, national security editor, The Atlantic -
An honest accounting by a patriot seeking a deliberate national discourse on what actually makes America great.
— Kirkus Reviews -
The Dissent Channel represents an important read for those seeking to reckon with the longer-term shortcomings of American foreign policy, particularly as they concern South Sudan.
— Global Policy Journal -
Her keen and empathetic eye brings into sharp relief the disastrous consequences of derelict foreign policy against the brutal backdrop of a fledgling, war-torn country.
— Seven Days VT -
Shackleford's book is a damning chronicle of the naivety and gullibility of Western governments. Rather than making good on their expressions of concern, they continued to pour money into South Sudan.
— Independent Catholic News -
In these norm-shattering times, we urgently need to examine and learn from mistakes of the past. This beautifully written, personal story exposes uncomfortable truths about the costs of America's foreign policy approach and, without cynicism, offers some hope for a better way forward—Yara Bayoumy, National SecurityEditor, The Atlantic
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About Elizabeth Shackelford
Elizabeth Shackelford was a career diplomat in the US State Department until December 2017, when she resigned in protest of the Trump administration. During her tenure with the Foreign Service, she served in the US embassies in Warsaw, Poland, South Sudan, Somalia, and Washington, DC. 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.
About the Narrators
Suehyla El-Attar Young is an actress and writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. She dabbled in radio for a bit, working with several well-known stations as a morning news personality and DJ. Eventually, she returned to acting, on stage and in film. She has nurtured both crafts of acting and writing, working with local companies such as Theatre du Reve, Synchronicity Theatre, the Alliance Theatre Company, and Horizon Theatre Company as dramaturge, actress, and playwright on several projects.
Suehyla El-Attar Young is an actress and writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. She dabbled in radio for a bit, working with several well-known stations as a morning news personality and DJ. Eventually, she returned to acting, on stage and in film. She has nurtured both crafts of acting and writing, working with local companies such as Theatre du Reve, Synchronicity Theatre, the Alliance Theatre Company, and Horizon Theatre Company as dramaturge, actress, and playwright on several projects.