American Diplomacy

Volume I, Number 2, 1996

 

Launching a Journal: The Editor's Gratitude

 

We at American Diplomacy who have undertaken, with the cooperation of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies and our several contributors of articles and commentary, to present a new look at diplomatic questions on the Web have been gratified by the generally positive reaction of readers coming in from as far away as Australia.

No particular agonizing reappraisal seems to be called for at this point. The reception of our inaugural effort, Volume I, Number 1, thus far has pleased us, the members of the Editorial Board and staff. We will not have to contemplate massive (intellectual) retaliation against any carping critics, at least not at this point.

Much work faces us, nonetheless. A few technical details remain to be worked out so as to make future issues of American Diplomacy more readily accessible to readers and to make more widely known our very existence.

• One area of our efforts will continue to be locating appropriate visuals, other than the photos of our authors, some of which photos have proved to be not especially flattering.
• We hope to launch soon a book review section and to expand the number of items we will carry in both the Life in the Foreign Service section and the Commentary on Current Issues department.
• The group of featured articles will, of course, remain our intellectual mainstay.

That brings up again my wish to extend our outreach and to broaden the representation of views on policy questions presented in American Diplomacy . Let these words serve as a renewed invitation to those who would have their ideas, opinions, experiences, or observations disseminated through our internet publishing vehicle. If you have an article or commentary that you wish for us to consider, let me or Publisher Frank Crigler know by e-mail, or more simply, send it along for review by the Editorial Advisory Board. The mail will reach us at:

Henry E. Mattox
History Dept., Box 8108
N. C. State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8108.

If feasible, let us see your offering in double-spaced hard copy, accompanied by the text on a diskette. The word processing program you use does not make a great deal of difference -- Mark Thompson of the TISS staff can find a way to convert it to our use -- and having it in diskette form saves a great deal of typing time.

That's it for the time being. Keep those cards and letters coming, so to speak. The web and this kind of publishing effort importantly has an interactive facet. We look forward to increased contact and a heightened dialogue with readers in the next few weeks.

--Henry Mattox,
Editor