Between Two Ambassadors: J. Lawton Collins and His Special Mission to Vietnam, 1954-1955 (Peace and Conflict Series)

In the volatile aftermath of the 1954 Geneva Accords, the survival of the newly partitioned State of Vietnam was anything but assured.In Between Two Ambassadors, Ronald B. Frankum delivers a meticulous diplomatic and political history of the critical window from late 1954 through the spring of 1955, a period that fundamentally shaped the trajectory of the Vietnam War. The book's primary scholarly intervention lies in its granular, transnational analysis of the tripartite tensions between Saigon, Paris, and Washington during Ngo Dinh Diem's precarious consolidation of power.While traditional historiography often glosses over this transitional era as a steady march toward American escalation, Frankum reveals a highly contingent landscape fraught with policy reversals, deep internal divisions, and shifting loyalties. Drawing on extensive archival research, Between Two Ambassadors traces the intricate web of debates that defined this era.Frankum expertly navigates the complexities of the r