AFSA National High School Essay Contest 2025-2026:
The Fragile Front Line: U.S. Diplomacy and the Future of Soft Power

Over the course of its 250-year history, the United States has projected leadership abroad through a mix of hard and soft power. At the center of this effort has been the U.S. Foreign Service, the nation’s professional diplomatic corps, which carries out U.S. foreign policy and advances American interests overseas. From negotiating peace agreements and managing crises to fostering long-term alliances, the Foreign Service is the front-line institution of American diplomacy.

Soft power is how a country attracts and persuades others without force. It includes culture (music, films, books), educational and professional exchanges, independent, fact-based news, and development and disaster aid. These tools help the United States build trust and lasting relationships.

In 2025, those tools took a significant hit. The U.S. Agency for International Development was dismantled; the U.S. Agency for Global Media (home to Voice of America) was effectively closed; most exchange programs, including Fulbright, were suspended; and the Foreign Service itself was cut by about 25 percent. How can the United States build and sustain relationships without these efforts?

In 1,000 to 1,500 words, make a case for one of two positions: either explain how the United States can maintain global leadership without these tools, or argue that it cannot—and why.

In either direction, focus on the role of the U.S. Foreign Service with fewer people and fewer tools. If you believe leadership can be sustained, lay out clear, realistic steps diplomats could take to achieve their goals. If you believe it cannot, show where capacity would fall short, which risks would rise, and what costs would follow.

For background information on the U.S. Foreign Service and additional educational resources, read our Essay Contest Study Guide.

PRIVACY POLICY:

AFSA collects your information for this contest and for AFSA partners. You may be signed up to receive updates or information from AFSA and our partners. You will receive confirmation from AFSA that your submission has been received and a notification if you are the winner or an honorable mention in June. You may also receive a message from our sponsor regarding their program offerings.

PLEASE NOTE:

Students whose parents are not in the Foreign Service are eligible to participate if they are in grades nine through twelve in any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories, or if they are U.S. citizens attending high school overseas. Students may be attending a public, private, or parochial school. Entries from home-schooled students are also accepted. Previous first-place winners and immediate relatives of directors or staff of AFSA, NLSC and Semester at Sea are not eligible to participate. Previous honorable mention recipients are eligible to enter. $2,500 to the writer of the winning essay, in addition to an all-expense paid trip to the nation’s capital from anywhere in the U.S. for the winner and his or her parents, and an all-expense paid educational voyage courtesy of Semester at Sea.

The winner's school also receives a donation of 10 copies of AFSA's Inside a U.S. Embassy: Diplomacy at Work

 

Donate

The Fund for American Diplomacy is AFSA's 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports AFSA’s outreach goals. AFSA National High School Essay contest is AFSA’s main outreach initiative to high school students. We appreciate your willingness to contribute. Rest assured that your contribution will be put to good use. Donations to the FAD are fully tax deductible.