The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2017 13 O ur World in Data is an online publi- cation that shows how living conditions are changing worldwide. The aim of the cre- ators is to give a global overview of how the world is changing over the long term, showing where changes are coming from, the current status and trends looking ahead. OWID provides the data they gather in two forms—charts and maps, and academic research on global development. The publica- tion is produced by the University of Oxford and covers many topics across a broad range of disciplines including trends in health, violence, culture, education and climate change, to name a few. Covering all of these aspects of human civilization in one place underlines the interlinkages among the long-term trends that are observed. The data used on OWID comes from three sources—specialized institutes, published research articles and international institutions or agencies, such as theWorld Bank and the United Nations. The entire publication is avail- able for free and all data published on the website is available for download and use. SITE OF THE MONTH: ourworldindata.org increased advertising in veteran circles and Native American/Native Alaskan com- munities, as well as better understanding of what constitutes a true Native Indian. Despite historically low numbers, there are Native Americans and Native Alaskans currently serving and those who have served in the past. AFSA wishes to honor their legacy and commitment to the Foreign Service. —Rebecca Yim, Executive Intern Think-Tank Thoughts for the New Administration F or this issue of the Journal , we invited members of the Foreign Service (active-duty and retired) to offer advice to the new administration on the role of diplomacy and the Foreign Service. But there is a wealth of foreign policy advice being offered by think tanks and other organizations during this transi- tion season. Here is a selection of such recommendations to the new president and his staff. The Center for Strategic and Interna- tional Studies published a commentary on President-elect Trump’s security policy needs and recommendations for building his administration. CSIS sees the national security portion of the FY2018 budget, problems in the Afghan war, key decisions on U.S. involvement in Syria and Iraq, and a commitment to dealing with the Iranian threat as the top priorities. The Atlantic Council created a NATO