Letter from the Editor

BY SHAWN DORMAN

Welcome to our first-ever September-October double edition. Yes, your FSJ is still here, still in print and online, and still serving as an essential forum for voices of and for the Foreign Service.

Our new publishing rhythm—six issues a year instead of 10—is part of AFSA’s effort to trim costs as we rebuild membership rolls after the loss of payroll and annuity dues deductions. If you haven’t already, please convert your membership to direct payment. Every member matters.

This is an exigent moment for AFSA—and for the Foreign Service itself. The threats are real. As AFSA President John “Dink” Dinkelman notes in President’s Views this edition, AFSA carries on, defending the Service and its members. The FSJ carries on as well.

Reform—Past, Present, and Perilous

Reform is not new to our community. The FSJ has devoted entire issues to the topic regularly (see, for example, March 2023 and January-February 2021), and for decades, the monthly Speaking Out column has given members a platform to propose improvements. Our online FSJ Digital Archive Special Collection on reform goes back to even before the July 1924 piece “Mr. Carr Surveys the Rogers Act.”

But in 2025, the word “reform” carries a sharper edge. USAID has been dismantled. USAGM is being silenced. The State Department’s “reorg” is eliminating offices and pushing out thousands of dedicated public servants. The damage goes far beyond the livelihoods of diplomats.

With this backdrop, we need to not only focus on what is lost but also look ahead to diplomacy for the future. After the upheaval, what comes next?

We open with a powerful Speaking Out essay, “The Way Ahead,” by Ambassador Eric Rubin. From there, a lineup of experts explore lessons from the past and possibilities for the future.

In “The Challenges of Reorganizing the State Department,” longtime State Department official Maren Brooks writes about her time working on the “Modernization Agenda” during the previous administration.

Ambassador Erin McKee reminds us of the need to ensure USAID’s unique contributions to U.S. security are not lost in “Development Diplomacy: The Strategic Imperative.”

Research analyst Evan Cooper writes about “Congress: The Missing Link in State Department Reform.” FSJ Editorial Board member and former FSO Dan Spokojny outlines a forward-looking “Curriculum for the Foreign Service.” Special thanks to Dan for his assistance with this edition.

Former FSO Charity Boyette, a professor of practice at Virginia Tech, suggests “Competence Before Connections: Redesigning Assignments for the Modern Era.” And Lee Voth-Gaeddert, a systems engineer with a broad foreign policy background, considers ways to bring technical expertise to the practice of diplomacy in “A Practitioner’s Framework: Science & Technology Integration at State.”

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, itself a sweeping reform. FSO alums Lisa Heller and Steve Honley lay out how that landmark legislation still shapes the Service today and what may come next.

In a special “Tributes to Our Fallen Giants,” we present four appreciations: for Ruth A. Davis, Lino Gutiérrez, Richard Boucher, and Charles B. Rangel.

We also present our newest Service Disrupted collection, “Firsthand Accounts from the Field”—keep them coming to Humans-of-FS@afsa.org, so we can keep telling the Foreign Service story.

Looking Ahead

Every administration attempts reform; not all do it well. AFSA supports change that strengthens the Foreign Service and has worked with Congress and agency leaders for decades to develop policies that make the foreign affairs agencies less reactive, more effective, and better able to serve the American people.

As we navigate one of the most destabilizing periods in recent history, the conversation about what comes next is urgent. The FSJ will continue to report honestly, highlight innovative ideas, and preserve space for the candid, sometimes uncomfortable discussions that are essential to progress.

I invite you to join this conversation. Share your vision for the future of the Foreign Service at journal@afsa.org. We will feature the most compelling letters and ideas in an upcoming issue.