Countries with No American Embassies

Click to enlarge. A Catholicgauze Map

The world has changed since the late 1990s and the "end of history." Yugoslavia is dead, the Taliban have fallen from power and can only muster massacres of their troops, Iraq is now an ally, and Libya has decided having a WMD program is a bad thing to do in a post-9/11 world.

With the changes and increase in globalization there are only five countries left in the world that do not have diplomatic relations with America. Each country has their own reason for not being in direct diplomatic communication with the United States.

Cuba: The now-ailing Fidel Castro broke off relations with the United States in 1961. United States and Cuban officials will communicate with each other in "interest sections" in the Swiss embassy in both Washington and Havana.

Iran: The Islamic Revolution and the hostage crisis ended US-Iranian relations. Iran has an interest section in the Pakistani American embassy. The United States communicates via Switzerland.

Bhutan: A country that does not hate America! Bhutan is seeking to maintain a "pure" Buddhist kingdom. They have a mission in the United States and meet with American diplomats at the American embassy in New Delhi, India.

North Korea: Crazy, crazy, crazy. The whole not one but two Korean Wars thing still burns under the skin of the tyrannical dictator. Sweden allows a US consulate in their embassy.

Republic of China: The Republic of China was officially unrecognized by President Nixon. However, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office acts as a go between for the Republic of China and several countries.

Category: Geopolitics